Troop Support Wanted
Of course, there’s no reason not to enlist and be a force for peace, now that Obama is commander in chief and the police/diplomatic-outreach operation formerly known as the GWOT is getting a makeover. But killing jihadis is still on, and if that’s not your thing, DoD is reaching out to people who want to support the troops in other ways. A “Civilian Expeditionary Workforce” is to deploy forward “in support of humanitarian, reconstruction and, if absolutely necessary, combat-support mission,” freeing more soldiers for the combat part. The policy directive is billed as a re-issue, re-booted under a new name, apparently yet another Bush admin idea being warmed over … new, improved, Bush-free. Quick scan of job opportunities suggests military and other technical/professional backgrounds are desired, and none of the postings are in Berkeley or Cambridge, so it doesn’t look promising for chickendoves. Tampa postings may be more appealing for chickenhawks with dust allergies who like Applebee’s. via SWJ.
OK, quick roundup of news and views on the Afghan War, which sounds like a good place to send people who want to help:
LA Times: Gates, US must set realistic goals. Forget “Central Asian Valhalla,” just focus on preventing Afghanistan from becoming a base for terrorists. Sounds like mission success insurance. Aim low. If trying to turn Afghanistan into Norway is an overreach, signaling that our commitment to the source of much trouble is sharply limited doesn’t sound like a particularly good idea, either. Optimistically, it’s a program for creating circumstances under which the Afghans can sort out their own problems without contining to be one for us. Pessimistically, it’s pre-emptive CYA.
NYT: Obama intends to adopt a tougher line with Karzai, more emphasis on waging war than development, which gets left to the Euros. I dunno. Leaving anything to the Euros sounds like a bad idea.
Deutsche Presse: Karzai intends to adopt a tougher line with Obama/NATO. Agree to plan to end civilian casualties within a month or he’ll seek a “national decision” on international military ops.
Reuters: No worries, Old Hairplugs is on his way. Biden will address a Munich security conference next week in his first trip abroad, amid a push to build support for an expanded role in Afghanistan.
Bloomberg: AQ aims for the soft underbelly, threatens Germany in Afghanistan.
Reuters: Afghan elections at risk as Afghanistan enters its most critical period since 2001.
AP: Australia, we’re in for more if NATO is. Plan for success, please.
A couple of days after its uninformative and misleading stab at Afghan war deep-think the other day, NYT tries again with an op-ed roundup that offers some practical military, political and civil advice from people who have been involved at several levels. Captains Journal takes Nagl’s suggestion for ramping up the Afghan Army a step farther, suggesting it’s a better idea than forming tribal militias.
Related, Ricks at FP with advice for Obama from Nagl on the importance of military advisors to foreign armies.
Captains Journal also looks at some of the problems that come with a reliance on Russia for supply in Afghanistan. Make that a reliance on Russia for anything, anywhere, and picks a bone re statistics on Taliban activity.
Yon re perceptions and reality on the US-UK relationship re Afghanistan.
Ricks also points to a Pentagon PTSD study that finds 6 percent of the force is highly stressed, a better job needs to be done of spreading the heavy lifting. (See top of this post?)
Abu Muqawama’s Quote of the Month:
All armies are by nature ill-prepared for unconventional wars. During the Israeli occupation of Lebanon (1982-2000) Hizbullah often attacked the Israeli army on Sundays when supplies were brought in and soldiers came back from leave. “Armies need to work more like an Amtrack train (known for its irregularity) and less like a Swiss train when fighting guerrillas,” says Göksel.
Abu Muq also offers a look at Pakistan.
Canadian milblog The Torch is embed blogging on patrol with Canadian Forces in and around Kandahar. Blissfully uneventful thus far, with interesting color and cultural info (Canadian and Afghan) in parts 1 and 2, plus a backgrounder on the IED as an effective propaganda weapon.
Speaking of cultural info, this 2007 vid of the gun market at Darra in the Khyber region is evergreen.
Speaking of things green, this is of a more brownish hue. Michael Yon on slinging hash in Afghanistan.
Topics: Afghanistan, military
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:39 am on Wednesday, January 28, 2009
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