Would be interested in what you guys and gals think about our current efforts in Afghanistan, considering that the obvious point is that "we"/NATO have to get the local Afghans to take an ownership interest in their government to be successful in Afghanistan.

All the technology, special small warfare in the world is of little use with a population that is hugely illiterate, perhaps as high as 80% illiteracy.

The current NATO effort to train up/educate up the Afghan Army and National Police seeks as their "goal" a third grade education/equivalency, according to recent US press stories.

Be interested in any views from others on this excellent SWJ site on what we oldsters used to refer to as "civil affairs" with the "locals."

My views just stated build from the below source Internet quote/article sites:

http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/Sto...3&LinkFrom=RSS


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/international/