Nick Fick wrote an article in the Washington Post on August 12th is making its way through the Afghanistan-watchers blog-land, and it joins with many who are looking at U.S. tactics of keeping ahead in Afghanistan, the actual-land. It begins with his experience of having a gun aimed at him indiscriminately at a checkpoint. The Article: Fight Less, Win More
Here is a video of a British alternative approach to roadside checkpoints. I’m sure that an array of behaviors is appropriate given an array of circumstances, but this shows a low-level, non-confrontational style that the U.S. may not have in its tool-kit, so to speak:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qsr0Ox2RB98" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Mr. Fick is a now-not-serving-in-the Marines kind of U.S. Marine (as there are no “former” Marines) who served in Afghanistan. I want to point out again that current funding cuts of Afghanistan reconstruction programs are only going to make this worse.
Thank you Mr. Fick, and if it isn't inappropriate for me to use your social language: hoo-Rah, sir: glad you’re reaching out to us.
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