Comments on: Fixing a Perception Problem

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:26:29 +0000

For thousands of years, the key to military success was to get your own side’s men to actually fight. So, when American troops demonstrate professionalism and restraint — and they thus look like they’re not really fighting very hard — ordinary people get disgusted.

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:10:30 +0000

Today's Taliban can't shoot straight, because the same brash, young men who join an insurgency love shooting their cheap "selective fire" weapons on full auto. It's a rush — like revving your muscle car or motorcycle engine at the light and then peeling out. (You can see gangsta-style assault tactics in use anywhere young men get hold of guns. Professional militaries are unusual in emphasizing aimed semi-auto fire.) The older Afghans, who can really shoot, don't want any part of the fighting.

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:43:16 +0000

So, according to this report, it’s not enough to have “a big stick”; if we “speak softly”, we’re still doomed. Ah well.

Somewhere between “40 mm” and “drone attacks” the PR pendulum appears to swing from “pleasing the locals” to “enraging the locals”.

Perhaps this is why Kilcullen didn’t jump up and down about “kicking ass” and “smells like napalm” and “kill them all; God’ll sort them out.”

Maybe we could sponsor safe, public demolition expositions in local cities we’re trying to dominate, to satisfy the locals’ needs for flash kaboom, (“Fun for the whole family; bring the kids!”) and then carry on with sensible counter-insurgency tactics?

By: Johnny Abacus

Johnny Abacus — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 09:40:30 +0000

This make me really curious about local attitudes in regards to unaimed fire in Afghanistan. It used to be that the Afghans were feared for their excellent precision shooting skills. How did a (presumably) inferior tactic displace a much more effective one so completely?