Quote Originally Posted by LawVol View Post
This makes me wonder whether winning hearts and minds is a valid goal anymore. In situations like that discussed in the article, the insurgents are not only not concerned with hearts and minds, they actively attack the local populous. Their weapon against the populous is fear, i.e. submit to our will or die. How can we expect to enter a situation like this and win hearts and minds? It would seem awful hard to convince a population that they should side with us when the insurgents are so ruthless. The locals will actively help or at least look the other way for fear that their children will be stolen from them, their wives and daughters raped, etc. Is it possible to defeat barbarism with a hearts and minds campaign?
One approach to WHAM is "When you have them by the short hairs, their hearts and minds will soon follow." This approach has traditionally only worked when no other alternative to the bullies was available (sort of like the case when Saddam ran Iraq). When the people are presented with what to their minds seem to be two equally bad choices--relative locals who use power drills on their village leader or outright foreigners who drop 155 mm shells on their houses--I suspect they will take the choice which produces less overall discomfort. In my example, that would be the guys with the power drills because they only threaten me with possible violence if I do not conform. The 155 shells could fall anywhere, including my house, whether I conform or not.

"Hearts and minds" campaigns must start with providing some tangibly increased (or at least preceived) level of security from the bullies that does not also bring other unacceptable costs to those who are being protected. You might consider the choice as being like what the citizens of Tombstone faced with Sheriff Johnny Behan and the Clantons versus the Earp family and Doc Holiday. Depending on which story you read, either side may have been the real bully.