Isn't this the nub of the problem? The British (and the Coalition more widely) failed to create a sufficiently permissive environment in Iraq (and subsequently in parts of Afghanistan) for the civilian agencies to operate (though admittedly other factors like a lack of planning and buy-in from other departments also had an impact).Originally Posted by William F. Owen
I think its a real Catch 22 - you can't undertake civil-led reconstruction without making it safe enough for non-military operations, but you can't, apparently, create that environment without reconstruction. Witness the sending of a Royal Engineer detachment with 3 Commando Brigade to Helmand - it was recognised that is was too dangerous for civilian engineers to operate there and the military engineers were sent in their stead to try and make initial progress.
Maybe the creation of a military capability which can, in the short to medium term undertake 'nation-building' (or whichever term you wish to choose), to the point where the situation is stable enough for the deployment of civilian agencies and contractors is the only way it might work (though I acknowledge that the military may then be left with the problem in the long term anyway). Sadly, if this does occur, I doubt any new resources will made available to create and maintain such forces.
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