Too bad that LTC got hustled. If he or his staff had really done their research they would have understood the situation in Nuristan. There was plenty of info generated on Mullah Sadiq and his cronies who are those same so called “Taliban commanders in the area, Dost Mohammed and Haji Usman” along with a host of other trouble makers. This article tells me we are in some bad shape. Kamdesh is strategic in that region for a lot of reasons that are not discussed in the article. By pulling out of Kamdesh it is a victory for HIG, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba which also operate in that area. Without controlling Kamdesh the coalition has given up everything from Gowardesh all the way up through Barg-Matal. The Govt of Afghanistan holds no influence in that area. All of these individuals could have been gotten in one way or another but the ROE and the bureaucracy at the top will not do what needs to be done. Good luck with those drones! Too bad were still screwing around with these guys. We had our opportunity, and the command climate couldn’t act fast enough. Maybe one day the commanders will have faith in their subordinates on the ground rather than micromanage from above. I’m not going to hold my breath though.