In Afghanistan, Hit 'Em Where They Aren't
-- Christian Science Monitor
-- Christian Science Monitor
MacArthur's tactic worked in WWII. It could work again.
Washington - Faced with the daunting prospect of fighting the Japanese among the jungles, swamps, and volcanic rocks of the islands of the south Pacific, Gen. Douglas MacArthur's tactic of "island-hopping" isolated his enemies and rendered them strategically irrelevant. His unorthodox principle: Hit 'em where they aren't.
As US policymakers reassess how best to use American and NATO troops, money, and political capital in light of a 30 percent increase in violence in Afghanistan and a worsening situation in Pakistan, they would do well to keep this principle in mind.
Recent US attacks inside Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) follow the prevailing, conventional logic: To win in Afghanistan, kill, coerce, and capture in Pakistan.
A successful strategy must attack the insurgency's true center of gravity: the protection, well-being, and state of mind of each Afghan. Secure these and you win; fail and you lose.
How to go about accomplishing this?
Read more ....
My Comment: It is good to see that some people are thinking. I can only hope that the powers in NATO are also conceptualizing some idea on how to win this war.