Your Advice? Is it Afghan-led Reintegration?

I am currently in a remote eastern region of Afghanistan. When attending a recent "secret" shura, it appeared as though CF was witnessing an organic, informal Afghan-initiated ANA-led form of "reintegration." Key government, insurgent and ANSF leaders were (unbeknowst to each other) invited by the ANA to attend the shura and discuss key security concerns.

After the meeting, the consensus of attending-members was clear: the "secret" shura was a good idea, and they were willing to participate in ongoing talks held during "secret" shuras. What remains less clear are the motives and intentions of each individual member. and whether this process is indeed a form of "Afghan" reintegration.

Welcome to Afghanistan. We create labels and bright clear lines that help us define the situation in our terms, but these do not exist in reality. These guys know each other, often coordinate or cooperate with each other, and talk often. It is not uncommon for a family to have members in the ANSF and the Taliban - diversified investments, Afghan style.

Encourage the behavior of such coordination, because at the end of the day they are all Afghans, and we our foolish to let our labels get in the way of them sorting out their issues and moving forward. (Oh, and don't forget that they have their own ethnic, regional, tribal and family labeling that does not align with and that trumps our labeling for friend or foe purposes.)

I only know enough about this to appreciate that I don't know anything about it and that the less I meddle in such affairs the better. Never assume you are somehow controlling or leading such engagements, as outsiders we are tools to be used. Assume that what is on the surface is not the reality and assume you are being manipulated to advance the objectives of some person or group going in, and you will never be far wrong. This is true at all levels, be it that Platoon leader with his counter-part or local village Malik, or the President of the US and everyone in between. We are babes in the Hindu Kush.

By their own hands...

The shura was probaably secret because they knew that somehow it would be misconstrued as an attempt to color outside the lines, and they did not feel they shoulbe be so constrained. Good on them.

It is my understanding that these shuras are at least tacitly approved by the Karzai government.