Hi XYZ
Nothing new here for me - we went over and over this sort of stuff down at USAFSOS (Special Ops School - Hurlburt Field, Fla.) back in the 1990's - ad nauseum and you would have thought it would have stuck - at least just a little.
But it's pretty obvious that DC pay's it lip-service and then just carries on bombing the crap out of anything that moves - hence you actually have people who have designated a COIN role for the A-10 Warthog (I am not pulling your leg).
Perhaps if AQ or the Talibs were fielding armored divisions I could see a point in the A-10's but, the last time I checked, that wasn't the case - instead the A-10's blast the crap out of villages where Talibs are expected to be and, as always, the collateral damage (i.e., let's call it for what it really is - wholesale murder of Afghan civilians) is horrendous and then that lying SOB, Petreus, would go to the media and say how terribly sorry he was and do 1000 mea culpas and then carry on as if nothing had happened.
Stan McChrystal, on the other hand, was a better COIN soldier and he could see which way the wind was blowing in Af/Pak and judiciously got himself fired.
Of course, OUR SITE needs a section that deals with the cultural aspects but I find it, personally, so disheartening because when the shit hits the fan - DC just chucks that stuff out the window. They should have been beating a path to Khalid's door, for example, as part of their learning program for sending officers over that way. But, then again, I am not sure they want to hear the truth which is pretty much this: don't seek revenge in the land of the Hindu Kush or you will get a lot more than you bargained for!
Ok - I have taken my anti-depressants (LoL) and what I would suggest, if you are interested - get a cadre of folks around you that you know would be useful in this area - and form-up a fledgling anthro/cultural studies section for OUR SITE - what do you say?
YX
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