Quote Originally Posted by Michael C View Post
The hardest part is determining whom to kill. The answer is intelligence. Intelligence can be coerced, paid for or freely given.
Well source motivation can and does often alter radically, and what he/she says and does may actually conflict with the facts.
The question is, what is the most accurate? Coercion is rarely accurate and paid for intelligence is frequently misleading. Therefore, the best intelligence is that freely given.
Operational experience from Malaya, Aden, Kenya, Colombia, Sri-Lanka, Cyprus, and Northern Ireland would not support those statements. Money and sex are huge motivators. Physical and psychological coercion can and work.
And, the best way to get that intelligence is to convince locals you care about the best outcome. The way to do that is to try and wins hearts and minds.
....and between that ideal and the real world is a whole mess of compromises.