Petraeus’s impossible mission in Afghanistan: armed nation-building

[pinto]

Interesting opinion piece from an active duty Army officer ~ pinto

Petraeus’s impossible mission in Afghanistan: armed nation-building
The US can’t build society at the barrel of a gun, but it can hunt Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

By Gian P. Gentile / July 6, 2010
West Point, N.Y.

The problem in Afghanistan isn’t poor generalship, nor is it any uncertainty about the basics of counterinsurgency doctrine by the US Army and the US Marines – they “get it.”

Better generals in Afghanistan will not solve the problem. The recently relieved commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was put in place because he was the better general of counterinsurgency, sent there to rescue the failed mission. Now we’ve placed our hopes in an even better general, his successor, Gen. David Petraeus.

But no one, no matter how brilliant, can achieve the impossible. And the problem in Afghanistan is the impossibility of the mission. The United States is pursuing a nation-building strategy with counterinsurgency tactics – that is, building a nation at the barrel end of a gun.

Might armed nation-building work in Afghanistan? Sure, but history shows that it would take a very, very long time for a foreign occupying power to succeed. Are we willing to commit to such a generational effort, not just for mere months or years?

<snip>

In one of the most brilliant and far-sighted acts of statesmanship in the 20th century, French President Charles de Gaulle decided in 1961 to withdraw French troops from Algeria and grant that country its independence from French colonial rule. De Gaulle’s decision was anything but easy. He faced stinging political and military criticism, doomsday predictions about the consequences of abandoning Algeria, and an attempted military coup. Nonetheless, he recognized that staying in Algeria was destroying the French Army and dividing French society. It had become an impossible mission for France.

complete article at:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0706/Petraeus-s-impossible-mission-in-Afghanistan-armed-nation-building

Gian P. Gentile is a serving Army officer and has a PhD in history from Stanford University. In 2006, he commanded a combat battalion in West Baghdad.

[zipplewrath]

1. You just don't understand chess

It's 37 dimensions and Obama is 5 moves ahead of you.

[pscot]

2. We're trying to pound sand down a rat hole

ever there and it won't work. I know the President came in saying he was going to amp it up in Afghanistan, but if you can't offer a credible explanation for why you're doing something, maybe you shouldn't be doing it.