Quote Originally Posted by jcustis View Post
The narrative is no doubt METT-TC dependent, and tied closely to what the dialog needs to convey.

David had a good snippet "in We were attacked, we came for revenge, we ended up seeking to help you, giving Afghans our blood and money. We do not intend to stay." A variant could be based off of the "No better friend, no worse enemy...we would prefer to be your friend." theme.

Engagement at lower levels will be muddied a bit by the need to ensure that the village leadership does not lose face above all else, so diving right in and posing threats to try a coercive approach will not work. I can only assume that eventually waving the stick requires getting to a tipping point before that approach needs to be used. A softer approach and narrative could go much further towards establishing how the Taliban have woven themselves into the life of the village.
That sounds about right


Quote Originally Posted by jcustis View Post
Does the GIRoA need to be in the lead? That's a sticking point I have difficulty resolving, especially if the security forces are clearly seen as a disruption/corrupt. The narrative cannot be allowed to run counter to what clearly makes sense on the ground.
The easy answer is yes, The more difficult nuance is the fact that in order to lead one requires Capacity, capability, and an overall sense of requirement to do so. As they say Devils in the details