by Michael Yon
Download the full article: Man Dogs
In David Galula's 1964 book, Counterinsurgency Warfare, Theory and Practice, he states:
"The ideal situation for the insurgent would be a large, land-locked country, shaped like a blunt-tipped star, with jungle-covered mountains along the borders and scattered swamps along the plains, in a temperate zone with a large and dispersed rural population and a primitive economy."
Mr. Galula described Afghanistan almost perfectly. Instead of jungle-covered mountains are some of the most extreme folds on planet Earth: The "abode of snow," the Himalaya. Afghan elevations dwarf Mount Rainier. By comparison, the great Colorado Rockies are the Pygmy Snow Hills. Meanwhile, down in Kandahar and Helmand Provinces, Galula's "swamps" are the "Green Zones," where most of the current fighting occurs.
Yet the experienced Mr. Galula omitted a crucial factor that describes the Afghan war: A heavily armed, warring amalgam of peoples, whose national sport and pastime is guerrilla warfare. British officer John Masters variously described in Bugles and a Tiger: My life in the Gurkhas that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for some tribesmen includes vendettas, guerrilla warfare and lots of guns.
This weekend, on Saturday night, mass murderers struck. Taliban terrorists used bombs and other weapons in Kandahar City to murder about 35 people. They wounded another five dozen, and damaged about forty homes, according to reports. Enthusiasm to commit wholesale murder is one of the enemy's prime weaknesses.
About 12 miles from the suicide attacks on Saturday night, is the runway at Kandahar Airfield, where operations continue every minute of the day.
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Michael Yon is a former Green Beret who has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004. No other reporter has spent as much time with combat troops in these two wars. Michael's dispatches from the frontlines have earned him the reputation as the premier independent combat journalist of his generation. His work is published at Michael Yon Online and has been featured on Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, ABC, FOX, as well as hundreds of other major media outlets all around the world.
About the Author(s)
Michael Yon is a former Green Beret, native of Winter Haven, Fl. who has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004. No other reporter has spent as much time with combat troops in these two wars. Michael’s dispatches from the frontlines have earned him the reputation as the premier independent combat journalist of his generation. His work has been featured on “Good Morning America,” The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, ABC, FOX, as well as hundreds of other major media outlets all around the world.
Comments
The enemy is brutal.
The enemy is smart - at least as smart as you are.
The enemy has a plan - in most cases it is better than yours.
The enemy is low tech.
The enemy is at home.
The enemy is willing to die.
The enemy is not afraid of YOU.
The enemy watches you every day. You operate in the open. You have no idea where he is or where he is going.
The enemy looks like your friend.
The enemy acts like your friend.
In some cases the enemy is your friend.
TO DEFEAT HIM - YOU MUST BECOME HIM
It is you ability to establish relationships that in the end will determine life or death, not your weapons...
Mans Dogs. Really? I always thought that the content on this had a certain degree of sophistication and insightfulness that made it particularly useful as a source of information and discussion. While I appreciate Yon's courage, devotion to the troops, and often interesting reporting; I find this post gratuitous and worse than useless.