Originally Posted by
Bill Moore
Slapout,
Rarely is anything in COIN (or any other military operation) a simple stand alone task with one specific task, but rather a part of a much larger whole. We didn't get in this Iraq and Afghanistan initially, instead we focused heavily on the singular objective of head hunting HVIs, and too slowly we learned that it didn't work as a stand alone activity. Too much network theory crap imposed upon the force. Draw a network on a powerpoint slide (nodes and links), and then the theory was if you eliminated a key node or two the network would collapse and you could go home victoriouly. We should continue to do this, but this is not decisive (conventional warriors think it is).
You have to understand your presence patrols (or any other type of military activity) send a message that will be perceived by the populace, and if you shape your message correctly (and most importantly, the message is supported by your actions), you'll start achieving success through a number of unintended positive consequences. If one of your goals is to convince the population that the insurgent can't win, and that you will make every effort to protect the citizens, and over time when the populace realizes you'll actually walk your talk they'll start providing intelligence by the cupful, versus by the teaspoon full. This will creat a momentum that can change the tide of the fight, and that is what you're striving for. You won't get this tidal change by removing one or two key enemy nodes (high value individuals), you have to interact with the populace to create this tidal change in this type of fight. We did NOT do this in Iraq initially.
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