"We are not worried about the Taliban, we are not focused on them. We are focused on the people," Pelletier said. "It is important to engage with the key leaders, hear what they need most and what are their priorities."

The offensive along 55 miles (90 kilometers) of Taliban-controlled areas in southern Afghanistan will test the Obama administration's new strategy of holding territory to let the Afghan government sink roots in rural areas where Taliban influence is strong.

The insurgency has proven particularly resilient in the area, and foreign troops have never before operated in such large numbers there. Large areas have been under Taliban control, with little or no government presence.

As the operation entered its second day, the units secured control of the district centers of Nawa and Garmser, and negotiated entry into Khan Neshin, the capital of Rig district, Pelletier said.

"They waited for the local and village elders," outside Khan Neshin and "with their permission they went in and now are engaged in talks," Pelletier said.

As the Marines in the village of Nawa sat for a meeting with a group of 20 Afghan men and boys who were squatting on dirt ground, they listened as a list of their concerns came in a form of questions.

"Are you going to enter our houses?" asked 25-year old Mohammad Nabi, who was there with five of his younger brothers. "We are afraid that you will leave, and the Taliban will come back," he said. And they all described the police as predatory thieves not to be trusted.