Reading on COIN in Afghanistan: a place to start

[031-Bacon,RG]

Coldstreamer:

Other than that, he's a hell of a fella. We're very lucky to enjoy such enlightened leadership.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

[Coldstreamer]

Excellent.

[davidbfpo]

Jon,

You asked:

The conversation between Jacqui Janes and Pm Gordon Brown is gaining a little media traction the past few days here David..How is this playing out in the news over your way?.

I have commented on a different thread 'UK's Failing Strategy'
:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...?t=7644&page=2

The scenes from Wotton Bassett of the funeral cortege(s) have a greater impact than Jacqui Janes -v- PM Gordon Brown IMHO on UK public opinion. Now others acknowledge a failure to explain to the oublic why; let alone to those serving like the late Mark Evison (on the other thread). I doubt many look too far, notably the losses time after time over the same territory and deaths to enable the last presidential election.

Even those who have been sympathetic, like the veteran Sunday Times reporter Christina Lamb, to our intervention now write "enough is enough" and in her last sentence I suspect sums up many othyer's opinion:

I don’t think we should just withdraw and let the Taleban take over. But I do believe we shouldn’t compound the mistakes already made by sending yet more young men to die.

From: http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/54...-targets.thtml

[Coldstreamer]

...winning always struck me as an attractive option. There are too few people with the guts to publicly face down - and correct - ill informed public opinion.

We shouldn't bloody withdraw. We should stop buggering things up and start doing things right - starting with resourcing the McChrystal review and shifting the whole mission to an OMLT model - which field men have been saying for years. Tactics 101: don't send a battalion to conduct a Divisional operation and moan about casualties afterwords!

Or am I in some parallel universe of force ratios and proper prior preparation preventing p*** poor performance...?

[IntelTrooper]

We should stop buggering things up and start doing things right - starting with resourcing the McChrystal review and shifting the whole mission to an OMLT model - which field men have been saying for years.

Amen, brother. Shifting more resources to OMLT/CSTC-A mission would improve the unity of effort and command and be an instant force multiplier, plus improve the mentorship of the Afghan forces.