Reconciliation and COIN in Afghanistan

[MikeF]

True, but this isolation has been of the entire country, I am asking if the region where the strongest TB and AQ support comes from can be isolated by military force to allow the rest of the country a chance to recover.

I would suggest that your recommendation is a definite consideration in Iraq, but not Afghanistan (given the current environment).

In Iraq, the "Surge" allowed us to create a secure enough environment that we can isolate diyala province and conduct reconstruction/stabilization ops throughout the rest of the country.

In Afghanistan, IMO, we have not shown the same ability to dominate, control the populace, secure the terrain, etc...IOT isolate problem areas.

v/r

mike