Quote Originally Posted by jmm99 View Post
but in the meantime, I've been mulling a passage from FMI 3-24.2, Tactics in Counterinsurgency (p.16):

I'm not picking on this particular interim work, since the concept is all over the place. I've had some difficulty getting my arms around the questions I want to frame. The focus deals with the political effort side of the ledger.

I've put my off the top of my noodle comments in quotes to separate them from the questions.

1. If we posit that the political effort is the greater part of "best practices COIN", who (military or civilian) performs that effort ?
Mike,

The USAID website on PRT's may be of interest:

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) have been the primary vehicle for the delivery of U.S. and international official foreign assistance outside of Kabul, particularly in unstable provinces. They are joint civilian-military operations that were established at the end of 2002 to improve security, extend the reach of the Afghan government, and facilitate reconstruction in the provinces.
A PRT typically consists of... military personnel, a USAID field officer and a DOS political officer. Many also have a USDA advisor.
The US DoS PRT website has job listings/descriptions and the following:

PRTs are a key element in a broader coordinated civil-military strategy, which includes continued Coalition combat operations, expansion of NATO/ISAF, implementing international donor development assistance, training and deployment of Afghan national army and police units, and diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan's neighbors.
PRTs focus on a range of activities relevant to their environment, including:

* Establishing and maintaining good working relationships with key government, military, tribal, village, and religious leaders in the provinces.
* Monitoring and reporting on critical political, military and reconstruction developments.
* Supporting Afghan authorities in providing security for activities such as the Constitutional Loya Jirga, presidential and parliamentary elections, and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of militia forces.
* Assisting in the deployment and mentoring of Afghan national army and police units located in the provinces.
* Working closely with the UN and other donors providing development and humanitarian assistance.
* Implementing assistance projects that address local needs and gaps not filled by other donors, and focusing on building Afghan capacity.