The Marines Corp Manual Offers A Revealing Portrait Of The Afghan War

An interpreter, center, explains the concerns of Afghan elders to U.S. Marine Corps Col. Roger Turner, left, and Lt. Col. Matthew Palma, far right, in a shura at a school during Operation Tageer Shamal in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 6, 2012. Turner is the commanding officer of the 5th Marine Regiment and Palma is the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder

Marine Corps Manual Offers A Blunt, Revealing Portrait Of Afghan War -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post

For centuries, this has been the paradox of warfare in Afghanistan: “The more enemies you kill, the faster you lose. Because of badal (revenge), the Pashtun have a saying: ‘Kill one enemy, make ten.’ ”

That’s a quote from the Marine Corps’ May 2009 update of a guidebook, “Afghanistan, Operational Culture for Deploying Personnel.” The book is for those serving or preparing to serve in that country.

Released publicly last week by the Web site Public Intelligence, a collaborative Internet research project, the 112-page, “for official use only” manual gives a clear description of the complicated Taliban enemy against whom U.S. troops have been fighting and the Afghans who are fighting alongside U.S. forces.

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My Comment: The Marine Corps’ May 2009 update of the guidebook, “Afghanistan, Operational Culture for Deploying Personnel” can be read here (pdf). I browsed through it last night .... it provides an excellent summary and review of the Afghan conflict. If you are going to Afghanistan .... this is a manual that you should read.