A U.S. Army soldier fires his weapon at insurgent positions in the hills surrounding the remote village of Barge Matal during Operation Mountain Fire in eastern Nuristan province, Afghanistan, July 12, 2009. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew C. MoellerFrom The Wall Street Journal:
Gen. Petraeus knows how to defeat an insurgency. But he will need congressional support.
More coalition soldiers have died in July than in any previous month in the nine-year war in Afghanistan. Last week, the soldier who slept on the cot next to me was killed. A rocket-propelled grenade fired from a snow-capped mountain in remote Nuristan Province killed Staff Sgt. Eric Lindstrom, a father of twin baby girls and the best squad leader in the platoon.
Strangely, our military leaders rarely talk about the battles here. They urge shooting less and drinking more cups of tea with village elders. This is the new face of war—counterinsurgency defined as nation-building, an idealistic blend of development aid and John Locke philosophy. Our generals say that the war is “80% non-kinetic.”
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My Comment: Just like Bing West's book "The Strongest Tribe" is required reading, so is this Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by him.