Good read from the current edition.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/182650/page/1
Some interesting points:
Tali controlled 54 percent of country last year: now it is 72 percent (Trans: We are losing)
Due to opium, Tali are much better funded than the VC
Entire country is corrupt - even Karzai admits it
Kill one Pusthun, and three more are your sworn enemy
Petraus: We cannot "kill our way to success"
Special forces have been misused on direct action missions rather than more effective force multiplication jobs
As in Vietnam, it has proven impossible to seal border
Pushtuns in south already hate Karzai's Tajiks in the north
A surge may simply increase the violence and the level of animosity towards foreign troops
Can Petraus and Holbrooke work a miracle?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/182650/page/1
Some interesting points:
Tali controlled 54 percent of country last year: now it is 72 percent (Trans: We are losing)
Due to opium, Tali are much better funded than the VC
Entire country is corrupt - even Karzai admits it
Kill one Pusthun, and three more are your sworn enemy
Petraus: We cannot "kill our way to success"
Special forces have been misused on direct action missions rather than more effective force multiplication jobs
As in Vietnam, it has proven impossible to seal border
Pushtuns in south already hate Karzai's Tajiks in the north
A surge may simply increase the violence and the level of animosity towards foreign troops
Can Petraus and Holbrooke work a miracle?