http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire RT : Friendly Fire en RT /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-25.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-25.html Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:13:00 +0300 It doesn’t take a military genus of General Wardak magnitude to realize that Afghan cookie-cutter of Iraqi population-centric ‘classic’ COIN would be counterproductive.Contrary to the General McChrystal public assertions and private reservations, the lessons of Iraqi urban sectarian guerilla warfare are not exactly applicable for Pakistani/Afghan mountain & desert insurgency. There’re several reasons why it’s a dangerous delusion or morbid chimera – depends how you look at it. /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-18.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-18.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:07:00 +0300 It may seem incredible, but General McChrystal’s vision of a new Grand Afghan Strategy was not inspired by the ancient strategists or futuristic think tanks.His Afghan strategy review was driven under the influence of the mightiest military mind in a millennium – General Abdul Rahim Wardak, the Afghan Defense Minister. ( How he became a ‘general’ is a different story).In the first pages of his COMISAF Initial Assessment, under the subtitle Unique Moment in Time, General McChrystal confessed that “ During consultations with Afghan Defense Minister Wardak, I found some of his writings insightful:Read more‘Victory is within our grasp…I reject the myth that Afghanistan is a ‘graveyard of empires’ and that the US and NATO effort is destined to fail. /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-15.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-15.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:51:00 +0300 First, it was the UK Ambassador in Kabul who threw in the towel to cross-pollinate traditional tribalism with alien democracy and opted for a “benign dictator” to harness the chaos and impose a semblance of law and order.Then the UN mission deputy chief (whatever his shenanigans in Kurdistan), whistleblowed on the “free and fair” election’s dog-and-pony show – to be accompanied by the high-profile resignation and condemnation of the US’s blind and open-ended commitment to Kabul’s corrupted cabal – from a State department official and a diehard Marine combat officer to boot. /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-13.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-13.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:04:00 +0300 There are not too many holidays, events and dates in America that are recognized and observed in Russia.Veteran’s Day stands out as a unique event that resonates in the hearts and souls of many Soviet vets, old and last generations alike.For Second World War Soviet old hands, it harks back to V-Day and esprit de corps shared by Soviet and American comrade-in-arms, fighting the common enemy.Read moreFor the last generation of the Soviet Afghan vets, it used to be a combat and spiritual reunion with American Vietnam vets, to share a common grief for KIA & MIA and to learn how to overcome alienation and PTSD; survive the fall of the USSR and the invasion of “guerilla capitalism” in Russia. /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-7.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-7.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:03:00 +0300 Training, partnering & mentoring any indigenous foreign force, especially in Afghanistan, has never been a cakewalk.This fiendishly delicate & dangerous task is rather an art, than a job and it is much more complicated than snake-charming, as some regular Tommies might guess – that’s why in the US it’s the main mission of the Special Forces, who possess the unique skill set of leadership quality, language proficiency and cultural sensitivity.Any professional training begins, proceeds and ends with rigorous security, professional and psychological vetting. /About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-4.html http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Blogs/Friendly_Fire/2009-11-4.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:23:00 +0300 When a run-off seemed inexorable, a tormenting American endeavor to re-elect the pre-selected president for Afghanistan has been abruptly accomplished with a phony Hobson’s choice. General McChrystal has pawned his career off to the White House by buying into ‘classical’ COIN doctrine as a real McCoy to pacify Afghanistan.The main premise of the counterinsurgency theory stipulates that in a ‘war of ideas’ (that’s what COIN is all about), the legitimacy & credibility of the indigenous government is a prerequisite to win the hackneyed ‘hearts & minds’ of the population and to avoid the stigma of ‘invaders & occupiers’ for the foreign friendly forces.