The road to Kandahar goes through Marjah, at least for the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan. That’s the assessment of defense experts in this Baltimore Sun piece that puts the current offensive into a broader context:

The military is using the Marjah offensive to destroy an important Taliban haven, but also to test a strategy that emphasizes strong partnership with Afghan security forces and security for Afghan civilians. And some of the same techniques will be used in future operations, such as securing Kandahar.
Defense officials are understandably reluctant to speak in much depth about their plans, but there is no doubt that Kandahar will be the military’s primary objective this year.

One element of the current offensive is to study how the Taliban use women, children, and religious shrines as shields — and how the Allies can best respond to the tactic.