Security

Handbook: Win Friends and Influence People in Afghanistan

Courtesy of Andrew Exum, we now have a look at Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s new counterinsurgency guidance for units in Afghanistan. It’s a worthwhile read — and an important follow-up to McChrystal’s tactical directive, which emphasized cultural sensitivity and respect for the population. As I recently reported from Afghanistan, McChrystal was considering new guidelines that would, among other things, discourage guns-up “tactical […]

090310-A-2927M-002Courtesy of Andrew Exum, we now have a look at Gen. Stanley McChrystal's new counterinsurgency guidance for units in Afghanistan. It's a worthwhile read -- and an important follow-up to McChrystal's tactical directive, which emphasized cultural sensitivity and respect for the population.

As I recently reported from Afghanistan, McChrystal was considering new guidelines that would, among other things, discourage guns-up "tactical driving," particularly in crowded cities. Super-aggressive convoys are a quick and easy way to alienate the local population, as this vignette in the new document makes clear:

An ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] patrol was traveling through a city at a high rate of speed, driving down the center to force traffic off the road. Several pedestrians and other vehicles were pushed out of the way. A vehicle approached from the side into the traffic circle. The gunner fired a pen flare at it, which entered the vehicle and caught the interior on fire. As the ISAF patrol sped away, Afghans crowded around the car. How many insurgents did the patrol make that day?

The document has several other Goofus & Gallant-style anecdotes to illustrate how coalition forces should conduct themselves with Afghans. Many of them focus on reducing civilian harm: A major issue for Afghans, many of whom have grown skeptical that the government and the coalition can deliver on security.

[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]

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