The Role of the British Political Officer on the North West Frontier

[davidbfpo]

Catching up on my reading I found a review of a 'Edge of Empire: the British Political Officer and Tribal Administration on the North-West Frontier 1877-1947' by Christian Tripodi (Farnham and Burlington,VT.: Ashgate, pub. 2011):http://ccw.history.ox.ac.uk/2012/09/...y-of-politics/

The review has some startling reminders of how Political Officers worked and died sometimes. The reviewer, Rob Johnson, himself an Afghan "hand", ends with:

He also has some sage words of advice for those who advocate the use of Political Officers in recent or future conflicts. He raises some thought-provoking questions about the purpose of such officers, the context of their tactical viewpoints within a broader strategic purpose, and casts doubts on their appropriateness in a post-colonial world. The fact that the West reached back, rather too late in the day, into its history to find solutions to insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan tells us much about the character of those conflicts and the relationship between the political leaders and their militaries. The key point is that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were characterised by an absence of political progress. Although the Western militaries obeyed the principle of ‘primacy of political purpose’ in countering-insurgency, too often the lack of political direction or political will to find a solution meant the soldiers had to fill the gap.

Not cheap US$100-125 on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Empire-Ch...istian+Tripodi

Or:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edge-Empire-...1889021&sr=1-1

Just ordered a second-hand copy, so will add a review one day.