After Action Report-General Barry R McCaffrey USA (Ret) Afgahanistan

[Fuchs]

Sounds like a "lead, follow or get out of the way" situation to me. GEN Mac argues forcefully for the necessity of NATO and yet descibes a situation where many NATO partners are nothing but icons as far as their actual battle efficiency.

I believe to remember a specific book excerpt. It was about partisans in WW2 in the Balkans.

The author had the opinion that the not battleworthy Italians were more effective occupiers because of their hesitation to fight than were the Germans (some of which were - as wasteful as it was - crack infantry troops from the Eastern Front like the 22nd ID which fought like two divisions in the Crimean campaign 1942).

I acknowledge that the north is farther away from the supposed Taleban safe havens in Pakistan. It's still a bit puzzling that more fo the behaviour that was used in the now enflamed provinces was used should become the norm while the behaviour that apparently kept the North quiet by comparison should go away.
In fact, it looks just perfect as it is; soft approach is likely not promising in the South (anymore), the hard tour is not promising in the North.