U.S. Army Maj. Jim Gant points to his 2003 mission in Afghanistan as proof that the U.S. military can -- and should -- work alongside Afghan tribes in the fight against the insurgency. Here's a look at the tribe that led him to urge the U.S. military to rethink its strategy.Jim Gant, The Green Beret Who Could Win The War In Afghanistan -- Washington Post
It was the spring of 2003, and Capt. Jim Gant and his Special Forces team had just fought their way out of an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan's Konar province when they heard there was trouble in the nearby village of Mangwel. There, Gant had a conversation with a tribal chief -- a chance encounter that would redefine his mission in Afghanistan and that, more than six years later, could help salvage the faltering U.S. war effort.
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My Comment: Major Gant's 45 page paper .... "One Tribe At A Time" .... is a must read. That document is here.