Bin Laden: before Abbottabad (merged thread)

[ilots]

Back in 2001, we were buying loyality...plain and simple.

Renting; not buying. You don't buy Afghan loyalty, you only rent it.

[davidbfpo]

Wayback in the days of Imperial (British) India and along the Afghan border the Brits recruited and paid a mainly local military, known as the South Waziristan Scouts for example to defend the frontier and police what is now the FATA. Yes, Pashtun loyalty maybe different from Afghan, but it was effective and occassionally bloody. The Scouts had a tiny cadre of British officers and some, technical NCOs.

I understand the current Pakistani para-military forces along the same frontier, usually referred to as the Frontier Corps, largely follow the Imperial mould and have more local officers.

If an Afghan soldier or dirt farmer can earn more fighting for the Taliban, is there any surprise he changes sides?

From a distant armchair.

davidbfpo

[davidbfpo]

The link to Tom Odom's excellent review on SWJ Blog: http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/200...ill-bin-laden/

Thanks Tom; your review combines experience and perspective.

davidbfpo

[SWJED]

Ditto David's comments Tom.

[SWJED]

Part 1



Part 2

[Entropy]

A third ditto on David's comments. I'll have to get this book to compliment the others I have - it sounds like it provides a new perspective on the hunt for UBL at Tora Bora.

[Tom Odom]

Thanks guys but DF deserves the credit. I merely reviewed it.

It does offer a no BS view of what happened and I can see why highers would not be happy that it is out. DF is objective in laying out the facts and conditions as he faced them, especially conditions beyond his control. Factual accounts like his make flights of fancy analysis on what went wrong or what should have been done read like the fantasy most are.

Good book. Great soldier leading great soldiers.

Tom