Petraeus Touts Integrated Civil-Military Effort In Kandahar

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News

General David Petraeus, the U.S. CentCom Commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday that as the military's focus shifts from efforts in the Central Helmand River Valley, where forces have overtaken Taliban sanctuaries in Marjah and Nad-i-Ali to overtaking strongholds in Kandahar Province, strategies are becoming more comprehensive.

"The effort [in Kandahar] features an integrated civil-military approach to security, governance, and development," said Petraeus. The objective of this method is to provide a rising tide of security that will expand incrementally over time and establish the foundation of improved security on which local Afghan governance can be built."

Added the General, "We and our [international] partners have worked hard to get the 'inputs' right in Afghanistan: to build organizations, command and control structures, and relationships needed to carry out a comprehensive civil-military campaign."

Patraeus emphasized the strategy employed by General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan. According to Petraeus, "Central to achieving progress in Afghanistan ... is increasing the size and capability of [the Afghan Army]. General Stan McChrystal has placed a premium on comprehensive partnering with [Afghan forces]."

Wednesday's hearing followed General Petraeus' collapse the day prior. Petraeus quickly recovered Tuesday and made assurances that he was simply dehydrated.

Domination In Afghanistan Is Futile!

Kandahar, Afghanistan. I was able to convince these soldiers from the 82nd Airborne here in Afghanistan to allow me to tag along with them in their Chinook helicopters as they resupply forward operating bases or FOBs. FOBs are small little isolated camps scattered throughout the country. And these helicopters provide everything from "beans to bullets". But these guys also serve as bus drivers in the air as well. They transport men and women across this country. Seems expensive, right? It is!

Expensive indeed! But money isn't the issue. We have proven we are more than willing to spend billions and billions on fighting wars while ignoring humanitarian issues. Or while the U.S. has such need. No, the real issue is not money in Afghanistan. The real is is lack of infrastructure. No . . . no infrastructure. As I flew aboard Chinooks all day, it became clear that the vast majority of this country, has absolutely no infrastructure. I mean no roads, no electricity, no running water, no mail system, no school system. Nothing. Now add to that one fundamental thing, geography.

I have never seen anything like this. The country is overwhelmed by geography. The Hindu Kush, this massive mountain range, determines much. And that which is not Hindu Kush, still dictates what happens. To call this "hilly" is laughable. Mountainess? Still a joke.

Now, combine the terrain with no infrastructure and then add one last component - dirt and dust. And you know what you have? You have the perfect triumvirate that will chew up and spit out any army. Like Genghis Khan. Like Alexander the Great. Like the Brits.

Now, lets put mechinzed in front of army and then look at the Soviets and the U.S.

Bottom line. Nobody has ever dominated Afghanistan and nobody ever will. The Americans could put not 30,000 but 300,000 troops on the ground and it still wouldn't be enough. Simply put, the ground will refuse to yield. And, in the end, so will the people.

If history teaches us nothing, it should at least teach us that domination in Afghanistan is futile!

A Interesting View In A C-130 Over Afghanistan

President Obama and Gen. MyChrystal have both stated that Afghanistan needs an army of at least 134,000 and a police force of at least 96,000. The idea behind this is so that those units can step up in this country and the Americans and other NATO troops can go home. Well, that is the idea anyway.

As I get ready to fly on a C-130 from Camp Kaia in Kabul to Kandahar, I noticed a group of Afghan member preparing to come with me. There were about 20 of these men, ages 20's to 50's. They are part of the Kabul police force that has been trained by coalition forces. They are flying down to Kandahar to train their counterparts in Kandahar.

As we wait for the plane, I notice these men talking together and taking pictures as a group with a couple of American troopers. It seems a lot like a graduation photo but it has a hard edge to it. Hard to describe.

As I jump on the C-130, I am surrounded by these men. I don't mind those close proximity as it was freezing outside and the snow was beginning to pile up. As we sat down, we do so in long parallel lines faces one another, so that our knees cross back and forth and back and forth like some strange human zipper.

One requirement in every C-130 I have ever been in is body armor. We all have to be wearing it. Kevlar vest and helmut. We all have them. And none of them match. We each acquired them in their own way. Their government. Their employer. Makes me think about the Sapi plates in my vest I acquired in Israel and the vest and helmet, Gosh know where. . .

As I look down the line of these men, intermixed with the occasional trooper from around the world, it occurs to me just how strange this group of men, me included, really are.