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Hearts and Minds: Tale of 2 generals in Afghanistan
With the rumors of secret meetings between Gen.l Kayani, commander of Pakistan's armed forces, Gen. Pasha, the head of the Pakistani ISI, Afghan president Hamid Karzi, and prominent Taliban commander Haqqani, it seems that a post-American scenario in Afghanistan is taking shape.
The fact that Haqqani was in the company of the President of Afghanistan is a hint of the shape of things to come as the major players in the region plan for an eventual withdrawal of US forces.
Perhaps the catalyst for these meetings was the dismissal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Fortunately for America, he is being replaced by one of the country's best military men, Gen. David Petraeus.
Despite President Obama's contention that U.S. policy in Afghanistan remain the same despite the change of commanders, the reality is the differences between the two men will ensure a different approach. Although both field commanders have been successful in establishing a rapport with Afghans, McChrystal tends to rely on his heart, Petraeus falls back on his mind. The former understands and plays on emotion, the latter intellect.
But McChrystal and Petraeus are rare birds. Few Americans see the world as they do.
I have spent the past two years trying to understand American society through a research project which looked at the identity of America through the lens of the Muslim community which culminated in the recently released book, "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam" (Brookings, July 2010). Before conducting this "Journey into America", perhaps I would not have been able to make much sense of the difference between these two generals. Now I think I can. I believe that understanding American society has helped me understand U.S. relations with the Muslim world in a more nuanced and sophisticated way.
Gen. McChrystal is reflecting an atavistic tradition which perhaps comes from his background in the Scots-Irish American culture.
This Scots-Irish influence is apparent in everything we see and hear about McChrystal--from his legendary toughness to his fierce loyalty to both his soldiers and the United States, which included his willingness to fight alongside the ordinary soldier. A suspicion and defiance of authority, another Scots-Irish trait deriving from their centuries of struggle with the English, would lead to McChrystal's undoing.
The Scots who immigrated to America, mostly via Ulster in Northern Ireland, were profoundly tribal, fiercely independent, and adhered to codes of honor, revenge, and clan loyalty. Arriving in America, they sought to maintain their independence while adopting American identity as their new "tribe."
The Scots were deeply mistrustful of authority especially heeding the dictates of "out of touch" governments be they run by English monarchs or American Federal officials who they deemed to be lacking in honor.
Who better way to define the Scottish code of honor than the famed eighteenth-century Scotsman Rob Roy, explaining it to his son in the 1995 film Rob Roy:
Son: Father, will the MacGregors ever be kings again?
Rob Roy: All men with honor are kings--but not all kings have honor.
Son: What is honor?
Rob Roy: Honor is what no man can give you, and no one can take it away. Honor is a man's gift to himself.
Son: Do women have it?
Rob Roy: Women are the heart of honor--and we cherish and protect them. You must never mistreat a woman, or malign a man. Or stand by and see another do so.
Son: How do you know if you have it?
Rob Roy: Never worry in the getting of it. It grows in you and speaks to you. All you need to do is listen.
This culture has much in common with that of the Pashtun tribesmen that I grew to know so well in my days in charge of Waziristan. I found that the more you respect their culture and show them honor, the more they will respect you. US policy for the last nine years has not done this effectively. But McChrystal changed the paradigm and honored the tribesmen, he was emphatic that they be shown "dignity" and "respect." In doing so, he began to attract them away from the Taliban.
In contrast, Gen. Petraeus has a Dutch background and has struggled hard to identify with and now live the American dream. He has a PhD from Princeton and would be as comfortable at the Brookings Institution or London's Chatham House as he is in the dusty plains and remote mountains of Afghanistan. He is that rare breed--a top-notch academic and soldier.
Both have a great rapport where it matters in Kabul and Islamabad. In an unprecedented show of support, President Karzai publicly requested that President Obama let Gen. McChrystal stay on in Afghanistan--until he heard of McChrystal's replacement.
In terms of the end game in Afghanistan, who is the more relevant commander? It has to be Petraeus because he is, above all, an intellectual who sees clearly the Great Game--the rivalry of superpowers in the region--and knows how to play it. America is fortunate to have Petraeus available and willing to take what is technically a demotion.
Petraeus' head for grand strategy, the role and importance of allies, and local Afghan culture, will serve him well. But in order to truly succeed he will need McChrystal's heart in reaching out and honoring the Afghan tribes and their religion.
The genius of McChrystal and Petraeus is that they are both anthropologists without having studied the discipline. They understand Muslim culture with its myriad sects, ethnicities and leadership patterns and above all the importance it gives to notions of dignity and respect. That is precisely what turned the tide in Iraq and may just pull off the impossible in Afghanistan by doing the same there.
The understanding of culture is a cornerstone of COIN--the Counter Insurgency strategy that these two helped implement. But impatience and wanting results immediately are also characteristics of American society. And it seems these are running out as far as Afghanistan is concerned. Both generals are aware that while Americans are not a patient people and they are losing whatever little remains, the Taliban are both patient and know time is on their side.
By
Akbar Ahmed
|
June 30, 2010; 11:07 AM ET
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Posted by: good-bad-n-ugly | July 4, 2010 11:57 PM
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might is not always right,
in order for might to stay on the right,
might need to carry on his/her head and shoulder suprem ideals and suprem morals,plus might need to practice what to preach,
nothing fail might and nations like hypocrisey ,on both scale, on the scale of theology as well as the scale of human ideology.
in other words in order to defeat bad ideology you need to inject in better one ,in order to defeat oppression you need to be just and practice justice ,in order to defeat and wash away bad money you need to inject in good honest money,this is life ,not america.
the russians failed ideologicaly in AF befor they failed in millitray.
america is no exception ,
in order for *messenger america to mankind*
(peace)to carry the suprem job of human interference ,
messenger america need not only practice what to preach but fundmentaly bring to the world some hell of a controling and penetrating justice and morality.
america proved fiasco on the scale of justice as well as the scale of morality right in the heart land of america let alone the rest of the world.
mighty russia failed in ideology befor any thing else,
rome and perisa failed in ideology befor any thing else.
Posted by: mono1 | July 2, 2010 7:06 PM
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In the analysis of the two generals the only thing that was left unsaid was the part the volcano played in McCrystals' downfall or the opportunity it afforded for it. Ultimately, however, both men will be as unsuccessful as all the others that preceeded them because of a single fact: All humans hate to be told that they are being freed from themselves by an unwanted third party.
Posted by: safiyah111 | July 1, 2010 8:41 PM
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The Rob Roy exchange reminded me of a Pashto proverb (approximately): "There are many men who wear the turban but few who deserve it." Or some such. Manhood and honor.
The generals' backgrounds and anthropological orientations are important in how they will perform but it will not help with the primary barrier to "winning": we remain a foreign military occupational force that took out a government that is the foundation of the insurgency and has killed a lot of civilians by accident and on purpose whose relatives will never forget or forgive. Another Pashto proverb: (approximately)"If you take vengeance in this generation, you are over anxious." And we are in support of a corrupt and unpopular government that at least the Pashtuns do not see as legitimate.And the generals cannot change this.
Posted by: scott3108 | July 1, 2010 2:41 PM
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Akbar Ahmed in WaPost: “Petraeus' head for grand strategy, the role and importance of allies, and local Afghan culture, will serve him well. But in order to truly succeed he will need McChrystal's heart in reaching out and honoring the Afghan tribes and their religion.”
Generally, a moral obligation is that some fundamental human justice process has become endangered and that all humans are obligated to correct it. That is true in AfPak where a 2000 year old SYSTEM of injustice and cruelty has evolved. The human rights issue is more important than most people realize. The Taliban's philosophy of imposing a false form of Sharia Law by force, which completely contradicts the original concept of the Prophet Mohammed’s belief of 'spiritual consensus' in the community, is not only a very serious violation of human rights as defined in both the Afghanistan and Pakistan constitutions (not to mention that of We the People), the Taliban philosophy, especially economic enslavement, may qualify as a crime against humanity.
At that point, the moral obligation of the human race, as defined not only in the American constitution’s Justice, Tranquility (peace) and Liberty covenants but by the International Criminal Court, becomes a necessity. The mere existence of American forces in the AfPak region that adheres to a system of opposing crimes against humanity makes the Taliban enslavement of peoples in the area nearly impossible. Americans and Europeans in the region, with a history of fighting genocide, have done more to create ‘spiritual consensus’ among AfPak communities than any totalitarian cult could ever do and that is a defined form of a successful moral obligation by ALL humanity.
Posted by: arjay1 | July 1, 2010 9:13 AM
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Still I believe that Obama must be doing the right thing, even appointing the W's man to what seems to be the most important military post in the country. Hopefully they won't be trying to strongarm each other, while setting up the negotiations with Taliban.
Btw, given all this situation with McChrystal's retirement, Petraeus appointment and the whole shift of the
Afghan strategy, I wonder what would happen to the MI-7 deal. U.S. military planned to purchase few Russian utility helicopters, as long as they were proved to be much more suitable and reliable in Afghanistan, than the Blackhawks (and cheaper as well).
Senators Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala., ex D.-Ala.) and Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), lobbying the interests of Defense Solution group, however, questioned the necessity of this deal (source — http://www.win.ru/en/topic/4767.phtml), having offered to give the contract to some "good ole American guys" rather than Russians with their "doubtful democratic identity". The decision-making process should be up in the air by now. I kinda wonder how it all would turn out.
Posted by: last_boy_scout | July 1, 2010 8:58 AM
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What can Washington, D.C. possibly teach Americans or the rest of the world about Ethics and Morals ?
If, we were to leave Afghanistan defenseless, vulnerable and unstable, then we would be leaving Afghanistan susceptible to hostile take over by Extremists again and as a launching pad for terrorist acts again, maybe.
On the other hand, some day we need to take the training wheels off of this bicycle too. If, we are serious about Faith, then Free People need to take charge of their own destinies by the Right of Self-Determination and resume an age of non-conflict, maybe.
Suppose Iran does choose War, what would be inevitable for Iran ? First, in about a month's time, Iran can be rendered defenseless, vulnerable and very unstable. As Iran has been suffering from economic instability for some time, financial conditions would get worse under conflict. And that a society in chaos or crisis now accelerated by war would be targeted by neighbors producing greater and longer lasting instabilities along its borders and across seas, maybe.
Problems of internal instabilities caused by our undoing of societal order do have internal and external consequences and warrant moral obligations because we are indeed responsible. But, I think it must go without saying that we, the United State of America alone, are not the Moral Police for the entire world. Kissinger once said that once the full consequence of unstable Middle East is realized, the World will get involved, maybe.
Posted by: truthhurts | July 1, 2010 1:31 AM
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Two Things.
1) The "Father" of the "SUNNi-A-BOMB" of poor Pakistan?, is proof that "Islamic Republic Of Pakistan" (A Nation on vast Stolen lands or SWAT's of such from India and creeply in Cashmere) are EVIL people who've been using US [KAFIR's; i.e., Russians, now Americans or coalitions] together with their AFGHANistan Brothers and Sisters {Same exact People].
See:
http://www.isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/self-serving-leaks-from-the-a.q.-khan-circle/
How Pakistani's SPY on Western Industry's (now its too late) only to Kill The KAFIRs, for WAHHABI Saudi & Ayatollah Irani ELDERS (not Israel, Not Jews & Kafirs).
2) Now that the World realises How Potentially Wealthy Afghanistan (same as Pakistan) is: That When the KAFIR's (Coalition) Leave the Area; That PAKISTAN will Merge With AFGHANISTAN as 1 (Potentially Rich & Nuclear endowed Nation). See:
We believe that Islamic Pakistan must Surrender it's Nuclear weapons simultaneously with Israel. Includes India, N.Korea, Iran and others.
Ex-President G.W. Bush was maybe right when saying that , "Pakistan could be Blown-up back to the Stone Age". Similarly said. But but he was wrong when he said, "Islam is a Peacefull Religion" similaryl said. Yet
Mr. Ronald Reagan {pbuh] was right to refer to Russia as "The EVIL EMPIRE" but this could now also appply to the Islamic Ummah (none Kafiir's) Nation(s). i.e. the ORGANiZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFRENCE and similarly organized against Kafirs (none Islamic People or Nations). See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_of_the_Islamic_Conference
WARNING: America needs to Up-date The "MONROE DOCTRINE" so that the Islamic Ummah does not expand in America's (i.e., South, Central Ameri and Mexico) so that in 20 Years or 50 years they won't cause Civil Wars or Strifes in this Region or influence.
Posted by: good-bad-n-ugly | June 30, 2010 1:52 PM
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"They understand Muslim culture with its myriad sects, ethnicities and leadership patterns and above all the importance it gives to notions of dignity and respect."
Sounds a little like the exagerated good manners and southern hospitality of my native South. This is how people accomodate their social interactions, when at any given moment, a mortal enemy could be right in your midst, sitting in a chair right beside you.
It aint' all that great.
Posted by: DanielintheLionsDen | June 30, 2010 1:29 PM
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