To win a war, history has shown the huge importance of winning the hearts and minds of the local populace. Their support cannot be understated. In Vietnam, the CIA analyzed the populace just prior to major combat efforts in 1965 and concluded that the war would be “unwinnable”. Washington went ahead with the war, and the rest is well known history. On the flip side, the IRA was able to win the Irish War of Independence because of the fact that the local populations were united against the British presence, and they hid and aided the insurgents in any way they could. The English soldiers and government did nothing right to win the hearts and minds of the Irish people, resorting to brutal tactics, mass arrests (with the majority of them wrongful and worthless), and a general lack of respect that solidified the Irish population behind the cause of national liberty led by the IRA. I am sorry for the history lesson but I believe it was necessary to prove the point that wars are nigh impossible to win without the support of the local populace.
Just recently in Afghanistan, a US led operation was undertaken to reestablish order and security in the dangerous region of the Tangi Valley. Because of the forthcoming surge in US troop levels in the country, the Coalition now feels able to go into areas that used to be considered too dangerous to travel through. The three day operation by the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Combat Team was deemed a successful first step to pacifying the region. Earlier in February, however, a platoon sized element of soldiers was engaged in a brutal firefight that fortunately left no KIAs. But after the confrontation, two local boys who provided information to the soldiers were dragged from their homes and executed, no doubt by the local Taliban forces. If this tragic incident is allowed to stand as is, how can Coalition soldiers expect help and trust from locals in the area? What is needed, at least, is reparations for the families affected, a promise of justice, and improved protection for the village or town where the boys came from. Only with the hearts and minds of the Afghan people can this one theater in the War on Terror be won.
