IEDs would be one obstacle for sure. Widespread razing of the scrub brush border (of which there really isn't a lot that affects our sensors) is sort of like using the hammer to swat a fly, and yes, the time and resources would be better expended elsewhere. The swath of arable land bordering the Helmand might be narrow, but it is massive when taken in sum.
We have had a hard fight in the Korengal, but we're not going to be razing the hillsides there to clear out the tree cover.
The root systems of the vegetation bordering land plots also serves to support the hand wrought canal troughs. When the seasonal floodings occur, the vegetation actually contributes to the farmer's livelihood. Destroying that can only have terrible second and third order effects, and again lead to pissing more people off, and turning then deeper towards the insurgency. Gen McChrystal had that concern right, and that's part of the reason why we don't swing hammers like that.
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