Winning the War in Afghanistan

[Tukhachevskii]

http://www.nrc.nl/international/arti...ght_each_other

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

to consider when pontificating upon Astan.

[Fuchs]

to consider when pontificating upon Astan.

I plead guilty on #26, I think.
Maybe #1, but that's in the eye of the beholder.

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

are hilarious.

[davidbfpo]

Free Range International (FRI) back on the ground reporting on several themes and always worth a read: http://freerangeinternational.com/blog/?p=2418

This is a prize quote:

We are not being beaten by the Taliban; we are beating ourselves.

A point made by Ken White before IIRC and others.

Within the FRI piece is a link to an intriguing commentary by a former UK diplomat, including a stint in Moscow, known for his direct, non-establishment views called 'Coalition forces on the familiar road to failure in Afghanistan' :http://www.businessday.co.za/article....aspx?id=90398

Nice last paragraph:

The lessons of history are never clear, and it is risky to predict the future. The British and the Russians won their wars but failed to impose their chosen leaders and systems of government on the Afghans. The western coalition already has as many troops in Afghanistan as the Russians did, and smarter military technology. But neither the British prime minister nor the generals have explained to us convincingly why we should succeed where the Russians and the British failed, or why fighting in Afghanistan will prevent home-grown fanatics from planting bombs in British cities. Tactics without strategy indeed.

Just why it appears in a South African business paper eludes me.

[Steve the Planner]

David:

Rock solid post, but one hell of a way to start off the new year.

How many tactics does it take to make a strategy?

Steve

[Surferbeetle]

From the 6 Jan '10 Business Week U.S. Boosts Civilian Presence in Afghanistan to Counter Taliban By Bill Varner

The Obama administration is tripling the number of civilian experts in Afghanistan to about 1,000 early this year to spur economic development and counter the influence of Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents, a U.S. envoy said.

Eide said 80 percent of aid to Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 has bypassed the government in Kabul. As an example of the mismatch between military and civilian assistance, he said Afghan provincial governors earn $70 a month and have operational budgets of $15 a month.

DiCarlo said the U.S. backs recommendations by Ban and Eide to strengthen UN assistance to Afghanistan, including through the appointment of a senior civilian official within the military command.

“We strongly echo the secretary-general’s call for strengthened coordination,” DiCarlo said. “To help reverse the Taliban’s momentum, we are focusing our reconstruction effort in areas where we can quickly create jobs, especially agricultural ones. Rebuilding Afghanistan’s once-vibrant agricultural sector will sap the insurgency not only of foot soldiers but also of income from narcotics.”