One huge obstacle to clear thinking on insurgency is the inflated status we impose upon ideology. We did the same thing in regards to Communism. We did the same thing in regards to Catholics vs. Protestants in N. Ireland (and for the entire several hundred years of European reformation).

Ideology is a Critical Requirement for any successful insurgency, but it is a tool. A smart insurgent picks the very best tool, and as the job changes, he changes tools as well. There are very few movements in history that are purely ideological. Christianity in its beginning perhaps (which the Romans and Jew alike refused to believe, so they logically attacked it like the insurgency they assumed it must be).

Any government in Afghanistan will be infused with Islamic ideas and principles. That is really not a concern any more than the Christian ideas and principles infused in the US government are a problem. It is what it is. Forced compromise can work. New forms of government can be developed and work. This is the story of America, and America is the example that revolutionaries from around the world and every culture have looked to since the 1780s.

It's only since we got into the "control of others" business ourselves that we have had a problem with this. I have a paper here on SWJ I published a few years back on this:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/jou...p/46-jones.pdf