James Cogbill

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  James commented on the article | almost 3 years ago

  US Military, Taliban Share Same View of Aid Workers

  You make a very good point that CENTCOM and U.S. military planners need to be sensitive to the fact that they are implying some sort of direct connection or collusion between aid workers and military intelligence.  Although, I don't think that is what they really intended.  On a positive note, an article from this morning's L.A. Times notes that McChrystal's strategy of protecting Afghan civilians may be working (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/afghanistan/la-fg-afghan-civilians28-2009aug28,0,84903.story). 

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  James commented on the article | almost 3 years ago

  US Military, Taliban Share Same View of Aid Workers

  In an effort to provide some context to the assertions made above, I wanted to offer the following, from my own experience and understanding.  As has been largely reported in the press, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new Commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has realigned the primary mission for his forces from hunting insurgents to protecting the Afghan people.  This is in line with the new U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual which states, "the protection, welfare, and support of the people are vital to success."  Given that population security is now the primary mission, all other missions to include intelligence operations should support that goal.  Indeed, recent press reporting has stated that U.S. forces are shifting the focus of intelligence operations in Afghanistan from identifying enemy targets, to identifying influential members of tribes and villages with whom coalition forces can work to improve security.  

  
  

  In addition, the U.S. military now recognizes that in-depth understanding of Afghan culture and society is hugely beneficial to our chances for ultimate success.  In keeping with this goal, as reported by the Washington Times (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/24/petraeus-to-open-intel-training-center/), U.S. Central Command is establishing a "Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence."  One of the key missions of the center, according to the article, will be to train officers in language and culture and will focus on long-term, in-depth analysis of the region.  It will also address a frequent criticism of intelligence organizations that they tend to focus too much on classified information and disregard open-source information.  As such, the article suggests the center will encourage officers to utilize reports from "people on the ground such as military officers and aid workers."  This does not mean that aid organizations will become "sources" or "informants" or "spies" for U.S. forces.  Rather, their reporting will be studied and analyzed in conjunction with all other available information in order to obtain the most comprehensive picture of the security environment, enabling U.S. and coalition forces to perform their most important mission -- protecting the Afghan people.