US_Advisor

It's a challenging question. Here you have the East/West religious split, you have tribal majorities (pashtun, tajik, uzbek, etc) and then multiple sub tribe groups (sitgai, ahmadzai, utmanzai, kharoti, etc) that all contribute to the composition of Afghanistan.

Majority of what drives those to attack us here is the need for money, and the need to feel relevant. It seems petty, but we aren't facing hordes of philosopher warriors; they do it because its easy to set the fuze on a rocket, or dig a hole and place an IED. And the concept of what is and isn't dangerous to many afghans has been skewed after so many years of war.

There isn't a simple answer. But I truly believe there's a way to find common ground. The army we advise, when you take away all the language/cultural differences, are full of guys who laugh at funny jokes, are proud of what they do, and have loving families at home. It's a matter of pulling the right thread of the social/military/religious/cultural fabric where we can see how it all connects and find a way to work with it.

Good question. I think each Battalion is different. There are talks that the battalions will devolve into warlord clans once we depart. I'm not sure that will happen, as tribally it wouldn't make sense.

They are competent and willing to accomplish their missions, but Pakistan's involvement in border disputes, trafficking, and COIN operations makes their job difficult. That, and the Pashtun majority still warily hold off from embracing afghan forces.

It's very tribal. Many pashtun tribes want to be left alone. Understandably, they have faced foreign intervention for many years. The Tajiks like us, there are many Tajiks in the Afghan Military. It seems to be an exposure thing, IMO: We are exposed to them on a daily basis, interacting, sharing jokes, tea, culture, etc. Many tribes just don't experience anything except when the US military comes rolling into their towns, knocking on doors, and asking where the terrorists are.

The soldiers we work with are really trying their hardest to be good soldiers. And it's pretty cool to watch them transform into a good army. People will be people, and it isn't every single soldier loves us or hates us.

Lasting impressions? We (US) are one of many in a line of cultures that has walked through afghanistan. We probably won't be the last either.

There were a rash of Green on Blue in the past (Afghan Military attacking US Military). A lot of times the reasons were inconclusive due to the Afghan/s being killed before investigation, but the consensus was a majority of it was cultural related, ie American offended his honor and they decided to kill to regain their honor (it sounds irrational when you say it outloud, but their culture is like that).

There are instances of monetary reward for ANSF defectors. But its become so rampant that the Afghan leadership helps us identify problem soldiers before it happens.

Just recently we had an afghan soldier who went crazy, he was hitting himself in the head, burning himself with cigarettes, and got really angry when he saw coalition uniforms. Luckily the afghan commander realized it, had him sedated, and he was sent off to a medical facility before anything dangerous could happen.

I think Afghanistan represents what can happen when you attempt to nation build without the necessary components required to win a COIN. We sent too few troops in too early, and sent in too many troops too late, and then announced a withdrawal plan that made actually leaving more difficult than it could have been.

I think counterinsurgency is viable (look at Malay with the Brits, to some extent of success) but it involved being very very very uncomfortable in terms of how you treat people. The brits withheld food, cordoned off villages, and chased the commies ruthlessly; it worked, but is the cost worth the benefit.

I think there is merit to chasing AQ with drones and SF, but again, you lose accountability with drone strikes, and you can't explain to people what just happened when a house in your village blows up randomly at night. I think having a "shock and awe" campaign that immediately turns into an AFPAK type organization where we immediately attempt to enable government would have been more beneficial, than trepsing around afghanistan to hunt AQ for 11 years.