Blogging the McChrystal Review - Changing the Culture Pt 2 Posted by Michael Cohen

Judah Grunstein saves me having to re-type everything in this report by highlighting this damning quote:

ISAF Shortcomings. Afghan social, political, economic and cultural affairs are complex and poorly understood. ISAF does not sufficiently appreciate the dynamics in local communities, nor how the insurgency, corruption, incompetent officials, power-brokers, and criminality all combine to affect the Afghan population. (p. 2-10)

Yikes! Hard to reconcile that, with this:

To succeed, ISAF requires a new approach - with a significant magnitude of change - in addition to a proper level of resourcing. ISAF must restore confidence in the near-term through renewed commitment, intellectual energy, and visible progress. (p. 2-1)

How is that near-term restoration process going to occur if "ISAF does not sufficiently appreciate the dynamics" . . . well you get the idea. This would all sound like an excellent idea if we weren't 8 years into the war in Afghanistan and domestic support for the war didn't stand at less than 40%. McChrystal is laying out a policy prescription that flies directly in the face of public opinion and political realities in every NATO country, including the United States.

One of my biggest complaints with much of COIN doctrine (FM 3-24 is perhaps the best example) is it often seems very much divorced from reality; traveling in an alternate world where domestic political considerations or even easily achievable military goals do not reside. As I've been arguing for a while, trying to do COIN in Afghanistan is the military equivalent of sticking a square peg in a round hole. This report really is at pace with that phenomenon.

Comments

[Joshua Foust]

I agree with you here, big time. "Our biggest problems are economic, social, and political" does not match with "add more troops and STIR."

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I don’t know, can he say no to General McChrystal? If he needs to say no, I hope he does, but if he says yes, I hope he does what he needs to for the continued protection of our country and the USA.

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