Interview with Bing West: A Sequel
The Wrong War:
An Interview with Bing West, A Sequel
by Octavian Manea
Download the Full Interview: Interview with Bing West: A Sequel
What is wrong with the war strategy employed by ISAF forces?
The strategy’s goal is “to serve and secure the people” (namely, the 11 million Pashtuns living in 7,000 villages.) This goal is too idealistic and too ambitious. We have 1,000 outposts; so what is happening in the other 6,000 villages? We do not patrol at night. We do not arrest. We do not speak Pashto or understand their Islamic tribal culture. How can we serve them? We can secure some of them as long as we are physically near at hand. But the people are the prize for winning the war, not the means of winning it. They are waiting to see whether the Taliban or the Afghan army wins. We are treading water with this strategy.
Download the Full Interview: Interview with Bing West: A Sequel
Octavian Manea is Editor of FP Romania, the Romanian edition of Foreign Policy
