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US commander in Afghanistan proposes revamped strategy »

The new US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, today submitted an eagerly-awaited assessment of the war in Afghanistan that acknowledges the disastrous approach of the past eight years and proposes a completely revamped strategy.
The revised strategy, in the face of the Taliban’s expanding influence and waning support for the Kabul government, switches the emphasis from engaging directly with militants to winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan population, officials in Washington and at Nato headquarters said.
McChrystal, who Obama put in charge only a few months ago after unexpectedly sacking the US commander General David McKiernan, has already begun to implement the new strategy, ordering his forces not to fire or drop bombs if there is a risk of civilian casualties. He has also shifted the focus from the eradication of the poppy crops, which alienated farmers, to attacking drug traffickers.
A key part of his new strategy is advocating that US, British and other international forces not only train Afghan forces but operate along side them.
The basis of McChrystal’s assessment is contained in guidelines he sent to troops last week in which he said: “The conflict will be won by persuading the population, not by destroying the enemy.” He compared the recent approach as equivalent to a bullfight. “A military force, culturally programmed to respond conventionally [and predictably] to insurgent attacks, is akin to the bull that repeatedly charges a matador’s cape - only to tire and eventually be defeated by a much weaker opponents. This is predictable - the bull does what comes naturally. While a conventional approach is instinctive, that behaviour is self-defeating.”