Kandahar Province: catch all thread

[Danny]

Where do we get these troops, you might ask? Easy.

We stop the stupid and wasteful MEUs, which are nothing but a chance for a Battalion of Marine infantry to get drunk in yet another port city every week, and we send that Battalion to Kandahar along with some support, maybe a Marine Air-Ground Task force and support along with some Army intel. Presto! A RCT (or almost so)! And for probably less money that it would have taken to send them on a MEU.

I make absolutely NO apologies for insulting the practice of MEUs or the highly wasteful practice of sitting a Battalion of Marine infantry aboard an Amphibious Assault Dock for nine months. If we ever actually have a national policy where we intend to use "ready reserve" or "forces in readiness," then we can revisit this. For the time being, it's just a waste.

This practice must stop in order to properly man the campaigns.

[Copperhead]

Not that you'd know it because apparently the entire US media is focused on USMC operations in Helmand, but the Army's 5/2 Stryker BCT has arrived and is already conducting operations in Kandahar. But you have to google it and/or check the Canadian newspapers to read about it.

[davidbfpo]

Linked here from SWJ Blog as they are both valuable to this topic:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/200...for-k/#c006057 and earlier http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=9154

[Steve the Planner]

Forgive the historical analogy, but the Rulers of Qandahar alwys seemed to control the main fild of things down to Quetta and across to the Helmand.

I keep looking at a decentralized Afghan structure as nothing new, but the traditional Mayor (read Ruler) of Kabul, Mayor of Herat, Mayor of Qandahar thing.

Now,what does it mean to "control Kandahar? Take and control the city itself 24/7? A control line around the city, or a wall like Samarra?

My understanding was that there are many well-established neighborhoods, each with their own power structures. Do you engage enough of them, or, like the Brits in Baghdad in the old days, just hold enough neighborhoods to protect government and the polo club?

Does the city matter in an absolute sense, or is it just controlling the region, or precluding/limiting bad guys?

What's it worth? (Everything? Nothing?)

Steve