The battalion at the Gardez FOB called my buddy the Horse to ask if he knew why thousands of people had migrated towards, “some compound in the Zazi Valley.” They asked to meet with them on their way out but that meeting turned out to be a joke. A visibly upset major demanded to know why, if the Zazi Valley tribal police were on their side, had they not reported to the Americans the location of IED’s? Ajmal, by this time exhausted and barely able to talk, explained that they are not in the, “sell IED’s to the Americans” business because they are not that desperate for money. The only IED’s the police have seen were either aimed at them or the tribal chiefs; but if they do have knowledge of an IED cell on their lands, then they will bring both the IED’s and the heads of the IED makers to Gardez. The Americans remain skeptical, Ajmal remains frustrated, Crazy Horse who, like myself, has spent his adult life as an infantry officer, remains heart sick, and I remain pissed off.

Is some kind of cognitive disability a requirement to become an Army officer?

I expect the answer to dealing with tribalism will look a lot like the CDI or Community Defense Initiative exercised in Anbar Province under the “Sons of Awakening” program which was touted as a success. Basically, we will give our enemies money, weapons, and other ‘things’ to stop shooting at us. If we’re lucky we can get some of them to kill those tribal members who won’t get onboard. It’s a strategy that is temporarily effective or at least a lot GO/FO’s are hoping will be in Afghanistan much like it was in Iraq. I wouldn’t call it a solution but it is a short term fix to buy some “stability”, create the appearance of success (whatever that finally gets defined as), and then exit the country with some form of dignity.

Not to sound dramatic but senior leaders learned and still apply the lesson of Vietnam today. The perception at home must be we left successfully or as in the case of Iraq at least non-violently as possible to avoid attention from American voters. Most Americans are unaware or even care about Iraq today, so that apathy equates to success. Total war with total victory are outdated principles that don’t apply to Iraq and Afghanistan, but at the same time we can’t be evacuating off the roof of the embassy in Kabul as the Taliban seize the city either. I don’t advocate the Taliban are capable of doing this in the near term but in time I believe history will repeat itself as Americans lose interest in the LONG TERM (10 years and beyond) health of Afghanistan.

Giving troops the ability to operate outside the wire and interact with the local population and develop an appreciation of the culture ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. No GO/FO will stand in front of our sorry ass Congress and say, “Yes, I did authorize the troops to wear soft caps, no body armor, and carry only side arms” to conduct community engagement or God forbid live outside the wire with the very locals we are there to “protect and serve”…. No GO/FO will commit that kind of career suicide, it’s dangerous out there don’t you know? If you’re not traveling with an infantry squad, with at least three crew served weapons, an approved CONOP, and some form of ISR overhead then you’re not leaving the front gate of the FOB. Good luck engaging the public and developing an appreciation of the tribal dynamic within Afghanistan under those constraints.