In response to the posts on population control and given our limited current force structure, I would suggest that the Waygal Valley (where Wanat is located) is perhaps just a valley too far to effectively pacify. While Wanat is technically in Kunar Province, it is one of 9 major Waigali (Nuristani) villages located in the Waygal Valley or one of its capillary valleys. The valley itself has a population of perhaps 22,000, most residing in the major villages and speaking a unintelligible dialect of Nuristani and practicing a distinct culture forged in thousands of years of inter-tribal warfare.

The Waigalis, at their heart, are isolationists. There are probably no Al-Qaeda members among the local insurgents and the actual Taliban influence, outside of the deobandist meta-narrative is negligible. Each of the 9 villages are so remote and in such extreme terrain, that U.S. forces have never even visited most of them including the most important and largest village, Waygal. Simply to occupy a position in each of the villages would require much of the resources of an entire infantry battalion, not to mention an additional heavy-lift rotary-wing company for resupply. This begs the question of whether control of the valley is worth the resources that could likely be utilized to much greater effect elsewhere with more strategic or at least national influence or importance.

The Waygal vignette is an example of just how distant victory is in Afghanistan. One can find multiple other examples of similar valleys or regions with similar challenges; Kamdish, Korengal, Dawlat Shah are just some examples close to Wanat. This in no way minimizes the accomplishments of my fellow Sky Soldiers during the last 15 months in those most foreign of valleys, but extending the influence of the Government of Afghanistan across Kunar and Nuristan must be recognized as a distant goal.

(View of Aranas Village, typical of others in the valley.)