Flee, be captured, be killed, or be reconciled

Although there has been an estimated 40% increase in kinetic events, there has been a significant increase in capability of the Afghan Army, according to Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schlosser, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-101, and commanding general, 101st Airborne Division. They are hunting down the enemy of the Afghans, he said, and we give them four options: flee, be captured, be killed, or be reconciled.

The enemy of the Afghan peoples, Schlosser said, are attacking at the local level. Where the roads start, is where there is development, and therefore that is where they attack. School is now in session, and so students and teachers are being killed. The attacks are there to prevent improvement, and the attacks are deliberate attempts to halt the progress towards greater quality of life for the Afghan people. The enemy realizes that they are a negative, destructive force.

We’re making good progress, he said, and we’re clearly not done and we have not met irreversible momentum, but we’re making good progress. The “face of governance” for us, is the Afghan Army. We’re doing good things with the Afghan National Army, Schlosser said with a smile, and we’re getting into areas that we’ve never been in,. The Afghan people should see a quality of life improvement and therefore begin to support the government.