McChrystal Submits New Strategy

pennst98 August 31st, 2009 at 1:46 pm

So what’s the strategy? $5 dollars says there’s nothing different other than escalting what doesn’t work.

They’re nothing broadly enough. It’s not the number of troops, it’s the way they’re deployed. They need to implement the clear, hold, build strategy put forth by Gen. McMasters, not the clear, clear, and then spread out to clear some more war of attrition that doesn’t ever work.

We need to be moving in force, with significant engineering and construction support. Win village by village, SYSTEMATICALLY so that we’re not just playing whack a mole.

If that’s what the additional troops are for then I support it. If it’s not we’re just putting more Joes in harms way.

Drake1 August 31st, 2009 at 2:10 pm

It’s OK to tweak the strategy,(like eliminating drug erradication)but I want to know if the Adminstration has in its metrics accounted for the possibility of failure to meet key goals:
1. Stamping out corruption in government.
2. Making the Afghan Army an effective fighting force.
What is the back up plan if corruption in the national government and police can’t be stamped out?

What happens if the Afghan army never becomes an effecive fighting force that is willing to fight fellow Muslims, and take care of all its citizens, no matter their ethnic group.

A bit off topic, but we have no info so far for either the metrics (Sept 24) or the General’s plan.

Drake1 August 31st, 2009 at 3:33 pm

Since you have the inside scoop, please enlighten us.

mike j August 31st, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Drake1–

Inside scoop? It’s all out in the open! Exum, Cordesman, Kilcullen, Biddle… try any or all of those plus ‘afghanistan’ and ‘strategy’ in a Google search. They’re doing an info op on us and our allies to soften the shock.

Look, when they finally announce this plan (surge?), I’ll be really surprised if I’m surprised.

As to your earlier two questions (very much valid, btw), they’ve been repeatedly saying “12 to 18 months to turn things around.”

C-Low August 31st, 2009 at 11:14 pm

Afghanistan was the battlefield chosen by our enemy for very VERY good reasons. Back in 01–03 many understood this. Some decided to take the initiative and force a change of main field. Iraq was something AQ/Radicals could never resist (honor bound) and at the same time played to all our strengths and all their weaknesses.

Iraq was AQ/Radical’s meat grinder the Stan is the US/West’s grinder.

The Afghan military is crap because the Afghan gov has no resources to pay for a army short foreign aid. The one money resource “poppy” is controlled by the OPFOR.

Our Afghan options are as ugly as they were when we started day one. And I may add as little rewarding at the same time.

–A generational commitment to a grinding holding action giving US/West enough time to educate a generation of Afghan’s at least to a standard minimum enough to understand the value and worth of freedom and peace. (the western way) Then the actual nation building and work to defeat the insurgency could start. The current common Afghani has spent his whole lifetime knowing nothing but endless war and 0 education. How do you explain to someone who was recognized man by war, earned his respect and societal rank by war, knows no education short war, that peace is a better option. In peace the same respected elder warrior whose battle wounds are signs of respect is just another crippled idiot street beggar or bottom line beginning level laborer.

–Not a option in my opinion but– Retreat. The happy will be short lived as we will be back with even less allies than we had this time after our first time of abandoning the few Afghani allies we have found.

–Double Down-NW Pakistan must be razed either by a arm twisted Paki gov or a US/Western contingent. Either option requires huge forces heavy investment and a footprint very very MANPOWER heavy since our technical mech advantage is nil short the ride up to the mountaintop battle space.

–all or nothing option– not feasible since we didn’t do the investment/expansion early on to sustain it and not lose on every other front from the caucus to the pacific (both sides). That option would have been shift to Iran as the main field which would have secured the Afghan option one with solid supply lines and at the same time pressured Pakiland by taking their trump card (supply lines) away. Strangled the Med and Africa fronts of resources (maybe making possible some peace initiative points). Bloody Brutal Costly ///the most of the options// we are talking Persians not Arabs here (no ethnic swipe just recognition of historical quarks). But I would wager odds on flipping the masses of Iranian youth or the masses of educated Iraqi allot more than your above average Afghani, anyday.

Dammed if we do dammed if we don’t. Glad not to be in the com chiefs chair thou.

My personal call would be to
1.openly declare a generational commitment to a holding action in the Stan. True or not it would get expectation into the land of possible.

2.tell NATO and the EU to get off the front and instead maybe use their LLL hearts to invest heavy in Afghan society. Roads, tunnels, bridges, elec, everything. The goal not even be to provide the resources but to get ole and young soldiers working. Make education a job training requirement and pay them during, call it whatever to save face for the Afghani with. Hell pay the kids to go to school maybe that would at least get the parents to fight (for the income) I mean to keep the schools open and operating with their children in class (boys & girls). Don’t underestimate the value an Afghani girl/boy who could earn just 1 US dollar/Euro a month (without disgracing their family) would be worth to an Afghani family. (AQ/Radical targeting of the education system is not by accident). Action contingent on US/Western adviser veto on afghan curriculum.

3.Under no uncertain terms explain to Pakiland that we are mass producing Reapers and follow on gens with the goal of having a never ending 8ball over every NW paki village including a wide open VERY LIBERAL OPERATOR JUDGEMENT BASED ROE. The closer! A door close date (let it leak) on which we will go to the above option of invading NW Paki all the way down through Baluchistan (we need those secure supply lines) and further if required.

4.Heavily expand the military budget and size. To win a war without fighting is easiest if your bluff holds over match weight. Not to mention if our bluff gets called that expansion and tool up will be required to hold the many other lines across the world that our current military support bluff holds stable.

mike j September 1st, 2009 at 11:43 am

Drake1–

I’m not so sure it does help to know the specifics, since we already know the limitations we’re operating under.

–We don’t have the troops, even with NATO, to carry out a COIN campaign on our own. Indigenous forces would be better in any case, and we know there are not enough of those.

–We know roughly how long it takes to train those forces and when to expect results.

–We know that Afghan government corruption is a big problem, so big in fact that we have to be prepared to operate independently of them. The fact that doing would play directly against the idea of a legitimate Afghan gov’t has not been addressed.

–We cannot attack the Pakistan safe havens with anything more than drone strikes.

–We can’t seem to come up with a clear strategic vision apart from “pacify Afghanistan.” What a pacified Afghanistan nets us is uncertain.

–Our supply route security is tenuous.

–The 12–18 month time line leaves little room for setbacks.
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None of this implies that we won’t be able to make life hell for al Qaeda, provided we don’t do the same things the Clinton administration did. But pacifying a foreign country is damned hard and expensive, even in the best of circumstances, and here there’s not much to be hopeful for. I very much want the people of Afghanistan to have better lives, but this isn’t how that happens.

roland September 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm

A simple solution. Educate and train them to fight the terrorist. Educate them that terrorist are killers and crimminals, train and hire more Afghan troops to huntdown and battle the terrorist for themselves. Bring in seed from fruist, vegetables, wheat, rice and others to substitute and distroy their opium plantations. Educate them that opium is a narcotics drugs that is killing people around the world. Develop ther business and commerce and develop their copper mines for their country. On all the wars Afghanistan had. I think the best strategy on this war on terrorism, is if Afghan will battle it out among themselves. As from the story of the last war, it says: “From those who forgotten the past , are condemed to repeat it. Let them be involve in the war against terrorism. And hire only those who will really do it.

Commandant Stephen September 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 am

when in town I visit with the brain-blast military men and women victims at the neuro care center in town…they feel the new “Rules of Engagement” re-search or the lack of being able to search places them in harms way…as they pass through a village out comes the enemy with their AK 47’s and our men and women are sitting ducks…also they wonder why they can’t ask questions such as “why are we here?“or when can we expect reinforcements”?why are we not using our full fire power and end this nightmare..we are losing too many young men and women which is this countrys first valuable resourse and it’s time to deceide to take the hill and declare victory and bring our troops and money home as lord knows we need to protect our country first…we are still doing a terrible job in addressing our Vet’s claims etc…I am a very strong advocate for taking careof our troops and this country…thank you