Chess With The Sheiks

[AdamG]

Complete article at
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/080414nj1.htm

Victory in a conventional war goes to the big battalions. Defeating an insurgency is a more intimate affair; it requires small units that can win over, or kill, one enemy fighter at a time.
Danjel Bout took command of his infantry company in Iraq, about 130 soldiers, after his predecessor, Capt. Michael MacKinnon, was killed in October 2005. MacKinnon, a regular Army officer, had been a friend and mentor to Bout, a National Guardsman from California. "MacKinnon taught me to not just assess the combat situation," Capt. Bout told National Journal.

"One of the biggest lessons I learned from him was to think through the second- and third-order consequences toward the civilian population. You're not playing checkers anymore. This is chess."


This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
this ain't no fooling around
This ain't no mudd club, or C. B. G. B.
I ain't got time for that now

[shark11]

That is a great article.....too bad you dont see this type of reporting on the news sources where most uninformed Americans and a few politicians get their news.

[Schmedlap]

That was a great article. I would only add that the analogy of checkers and chess is a bit off the mark. Those are games played in which one participant tries to defeat the other. We have so many common interests with the Iraqi tribes and the people in general. The trick is to identify them and figure out a way to work with the tribes to achieve them.

[Randy Brown]

Thanks for pointing out this article. Great stuff for educating soldiers on the complexities they'll face downrange.

Salon.com's Anna Badkhen's seems to be doing some good reporting from Iraq this month. The second page of her 12 MAY 08 entry ("Buying security in Baghdad") describes a U.S. Army captain's poker-faced response to a neighborhood council dust-up. The scene suggested to me an added level of complexity to the "chess not checkers" analogy--that the COIN/nation-building chess game is actually one in which one is not a player directly, but rather an advisor/mentor to one or more players.

That, and I was reminded of tantrum-throwing as a calculated technique for mental- and political-gamesmanship--think John McEnroe (in tennis) or Bobby Fischer (in chess).

Here's an excerpt:

His long dishdasha robe flowing, his kuffiyeh folded perfectly around his bearded face, al-Athawi rises from his chair, points a long, manicured finger in the general direction of American Army Capt. Andrew Betson, Iraqi police Gen. Baha al-Azzawi and council secretary Faras al-Qabi, and says in a clear, loud voice, "Why are you accusing me of being a member of al-Qaida?"

Suddenly, everyone is up on their feet, shouting.

"Please!" al-Azzawi bellows, rolling his eyes. "Let us put these differences behind us. It's over. Let's forgive. It's forgotten. Get over it."

"We never said any such thing about you," yells al-Qabi. "Why do you accuse us of accusing you?"

"Al-Qaida!" al-Athawi roars. "I am told that you spread rumors that I am al-Qaida!"

"Enough, enough!" shout fellow council members, grabbing each other's hands.

"Stop! Please!" implores al-Azzawi.

"No one is accusing you of anything!" screams al-Qabi.

Betson remains in his seat, watching the meeting of a council created to foster reconciliation in the war-torn neighborhood descend into a 10-minute shouting match.

Then everyone gets up and goes to a burger joint to lunch together.

[AdamG]

Originally Posted by Randy Brown

Then everyone gets up and goes to a burger joint to lunch together.

It's like a Baghdad version of SPROCKETS: "Now is the time that we argue".

[davidbfpo]

Excellent article and I can recall, without references, that the British Army, let alone the UK government, were astonished at the situation in Northern Ireland wayback in 1969 when troops were deployed to assist the police. In the late 70's when I was there it was very different from the mainland, for examples local customs and religious intensity.

It took the UK a long time to learn and understand the local context. Sheiks by another name?

Given the introduction of a foriegn army is not unique, as an outsider, I still am puzzled that so much depends on hands on learning and then an amount is lost with rotation (Yes, mentioned before on other threads).

A recent BBC-TV News short report on the Italian contribution in Afghanistan included an Afghan criticism that every six months the Italians started to learn again.

davidbfpo

[Ken White]

Originally Posted by davidbfpo

...Given the introduction of a foriegn army is not unique, as an outsider, I still am puzzled that so much depends on hands on learning and then an amount is lost with rotation (Yes, mentioned before on other threads).

A recent BBC-TV News short report on the Italian contribution in Afghanistan included an Afghan criticism that every six months the Italians started to learn again.

We can do anything better than our predecessor (or boss, or successor...) ergo no lessons learned are required or desired. It is rumored there is testosterone involved. It's called "Eschewing cooperation for competition -- for fame and fortune..." (not)

Obviously, it's a worldwide phenomenon.

Equally obviously, it's abysmally stupid...