MARJAH, Afghanistan—Afghan officials unfurled the country's green, red and black flag over the new government offices here, further evidence that U.S. and Afghan troops have reached a turning point in the offensive to reclaim this town from the Taliban. Ghulab Mangal, governor of restive Helmand province, and Brig. Gen. Shir Mohammed Zarzai, commander of the Afghan army's 205th Corps, described Thursday's flag-raising as symbolizing the Kabul government's return to the southern town of Marjah—and its promise to rule more honestly than it did before the Taliban took control two years ago. View Full Image AFP/Getty Images Helmand province Gov. Gulab Mangal hoists the Afghan flag during an official flag-raising ceremony in Marjah. "Nobody can tell me that during the last two years the Taliban did a single thing for you," Gov. Mangal told hundreds of tribal elders and other men and boys, who applauded politely. "Can you tell me they built a school? A clinic? Helped the poor? Built roads? Fixed the canals?" The Afghan authorities and their international backers see the Marjah offensive—the biggest in the country since 2001— as a test of the effectiveness of U.[Read more...]