Like clockwork, Jules Crittenden highlights the important “stuff” – see Hammer, Meet Anvil – for the latest on Cobra’s Anger.

... It’s the first operation post-surge announcement, though obviously the deployment and planning long preceded that. You’ll note that this operation is called “Cobra’s Anger,” not “Make Friends And Influence People.” While making friends with the Afghans is an important part of counterinsurgency, influencing them has to include convincingly reducing or eliminating the Taliban’s ability to make their lives difficult, while also influencing the softer elements of the Taliban to consider a friendlier course. Look forward to more squeeze plays of this sort coming on quick, as McChrystal and the soldiers and Marines under him work their way down their clear-and-hold list...

More at Forward Movement.