Afghanistan troop surge could backfire, experts warn

[MSG Proctor]

None of Eden's rebuttals deal with these facts:

1. Islam is the only hope for a unifying principle/theme in COIN ops there;
2. The enemy is co-opting the religious leaders not due to theological/ideological/moral superiority but due to our exposing them to the coercive power of the insurgency.

I hear the "it might not work" and "Mullahs are not homogenous" etc...

GEN McCaffery's position that "we can shoot our way out of Afghanistan" is rather obvious in that we are dealing with a nasty religious-based insurgency there. It is a war of ideas. A war of cultures. And if as Eden states

"our stated goal in Afghanistan - a state where their [religious leaders] influence is marginalized."

is true, can you provide any evidence of this policy? Because that is suicide in a counterinsurgency. The more you marginalize religious leaders, the more you radicalize them. For God's sake, gentlemen, haven't we learned this already in OIF?

No one is offering a silver bullet - but I am submitting that we aim the pistol at the enemy instead of at our own heads.