The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden

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Via: VA Home Loans

A.L.L.- INSURGENCY OVERVIEW

Taliban Code of Conduct published by Taliban leadership, Mid July 2009(Mullah Omar‟s COIN guidance – a population-centric strategy)“This is our mission: to keep people and their property safe. Do not let those people that love money take our local people’s property and cause them problems.” “Keep good relationships with your friends and the local people, and do not let the enemy divide / separate you.”

Intentions

• We don’t have to beat ISAF militarily, just outlast international will to remain in Afghanistan
• Continue population outreach and protection programs
• Continue successful asymmetric operations
• Expand lethal IED and high-profile attacks to deny ISAF freedom of movement
• Emphasize increasing violence in RC North and RC West
• Demonstrate Taliban reach and perceived control of all Afghanistan
• Make the main enemy the United States

Directives
• Reiterated prohibitions on the following:
– Mistreatingpopulation
– Forciblytakingpersonal weapons
– Takingchildrentoconduct jihad
– Punishmentbymaiming
– Forcing people to pay donations
– Searchinghomes – Kidnapping people for money

TALIBAN GOVERNANCE

FATA – NWFP of Pakistan

FATA: Taliban Safe Haven

• Made up of seven tribal agencies (Khyber, Kurram, Orazkai, Mohmand, Bajaur, North and South Waziristan)
• 3 million tribesmen of FATA are part of the 28 million Pashtuns in Pakistan (15 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan)
• Development, literacy, and health facilities are low
– Per capita income US $500 – Literacy rate: 17% (3% for females) – Madaris (some built with Al Qaeda money) are a
primary means of education and remain popular
• Tribes on both sides of border intermarry, trade, feud, celebrate with one another; adhere to Pashtunwali
• FATA tribes more rigid and conservative due to a uniquely oppressive administrative system

– Ruled directly by the Pakistani President whose agent is the Governor of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP)
– Governor appoints “political agents” to each agency – Agents adhere to the “Frontier Crimes Regulation” (FCR), a legacy of
British colonialism
– FCR gave no constitutional, civic, or political rights to FATA tribesmen
– FATA traditionally off limits to journalists, NGOs, human rights organizations and political parties
– Mullahs and de facto religious parties have filled the void
• Since the fall of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, the area has been destabilized as Pakistani Intelligence (ISI) used FATA as a safe haven for Taliban reconstitution and later as a staging area for TB recruitment, training and operations in Afghanistan
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Can Afghan Forces ever be trusted?

Interesting to see people in our Government start to take notice of this issue. Too bad they have not just been watching the news or reading this blog, maybe they would have paid attention sooner. You can go back to www.bouhammer.com/2010/07/never-get-complacent/ or www.bouhammer.com/2009/11/anp-always-considered-the-enemy/ to read a few of my past blog posts about this subject.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has gained the support of an Army general and a highly-respected senator in her call for a federal review of Afghan security forces in the wake of the ambush killings of a Maine man and five other soldiers on Nov. 29.

Now if you ask one or two people that were with me in Afghanistan that were “in love” with the Afghan forces then they will tell you this is not an issue and they feel and always felt very safe with their Afghan forces. Even after these same forces almost killed them a time or two (by accident of course ). However as I told my team many times and I have repeated on here, you must befriend these guys but becuase they are not Ameicans you have to be ready to kill them without hesitation the second they turn against you.

They are not all bad and even those that turn against US forces are not all US haters or hidden members of the Taliban. Sometimes the enemy kidnaps their family members and either tortures or threaten to kill the loved ones of the Afghan security member if that soldier/cop does not do somethign like try to kill Ameicans. So I am not sure how anyone thinks they can “screen” for bad guys. It is a tribal and corrupt society, so getting around background checks is very easy. It is all in who you know….or pay.

“However, the fact that attacks by security forces on U.S. and NATO personnel have continued to occur lead me to believe that current practices are inadequate, and significant changes are necessary to prevent the further loss of life in such incidents,” Snowe said.

it is a catch-22 and I am not sure there is any good way around it, other than making sure our troops are always ever-vigilant and never let their guard down or get complacent. Read the whole story at www.military.com/news/article/general-senator-back-afghan-forces-review.html

A.L.L.-MILITARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

TERRAIN & MAJOR LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS BY ISAF RC

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Missions

ISAF PRT LOCATIONS

Provincial Reconstruction Team
• 26 PRTs, each commanded by a military officer (usually a LTC)
• Includes: -Military Component (Civil
Affairs/Force Protection)
-Civilian Police Advisors
-Civilianrepresentativesof US (or other national) government foreign agencies

Focus is on development, reconstruction and extending the reach of the central government into the provinces.

AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY

Afghan National Army (ANA)
• Strength: 97,000 troops (as of January 2010)
• Target Strength: 240,000 (within five years)
• Capacity: participates in 90% of ISAF operations and leads 62% of joint operations
• Well respected by the Afghan population

ANA Command Areas of Responsibility

AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE

Afghan National Police (ANP)
• Strength: 94,000 (as of January 2010)
• Target Strength: 134,000 (within five years)
• Composition of the ANP
- Afghan Uniformed Police
- Afghan Border Police
- Afghan National Civil Order Police
- Afghan Counter-Narcotics Police
• Viewed as corrupt; are known to extort the local population; generally not trusted

Three Wickets and A Bulldozer

I am very happy to announce that there is a great piece of perspective and insight about Afghanistan available now for the entire public to see. My very good friend Scott Kesterson who has had many guests posts on this blog and is the filmmaker of the riveting documentary At War has finally released (along with his co-author COL James Larsen) a white paper called Three Wickets and a Bulldozer.

Without giving away too much of the whitepaper I can tell you that it is a fresh “outside of the box” look into a path forward for success in Afghanistan. I first read this white paper over a year ago and since then Scott and I have had many discussions about it, what it means, what it would take to open minds to implement it, etc. I will be honest it changed my mind on a few things on the way to approach engaging the populous in Afghanistan and making them more accountable and responsible for themselves.

I encourage you to head over to the Small Wars Journal and check out smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/09/three-wickets-and-a-bulldozer/

Read the small entry there and then head to Three Wickets and A Bulldozer and download it.

A.L.L. Religion in Afghanistan

ISLAM

• Abrahamic religion-shares roots with Judaism and Christianity
• Qur’an holy book – infallible authority
• Five Pillars: Testimony of faith (Shahada), Prayer (Salat), Charity (Zakat), Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), Fasting during month of Ramadan (Sawm)
• Other Beliefs: Faith (Iman), Oneness of God (Tawhid), Prophets, Angels, Judgment Day, the Books (Qur’an, Bible, Torah), Fate and Predestination
• Division between Sunni and Shi’a not as important as ethnic/tribal differences
• Pervasive part of daily life – Prayer 5x/day, education, Friday mosque
gatherings
• Religious figures (mullahs) respected and influential
-The Mullah is a religious leader or teacher
-Most are qualified by their ability to quote the Koran from memory
-Often times the Mullah retains the role of a leader who arbitrates local disputes based of Islamic principles, and teaches Islamic law and doctrine
• Literacy issues: misinterpretation; opportunity for perceived religious authorities to mislead those who cannot read

DISTRIBUTION OF SHI’A AND SUNNI

ETHNOLINGUISTIC GROUPS AND ISLAMIC SECTS

Afghanistan Holidays (dates* for 2010)

• 26 Feb: Mawlid al-Nabi (Birth of the Prophet Muhammad)
• 21 Mar: Nowruz (Persian New Year)
• 28 Apr: Victory of the Muslim Nation (Withdrawal of Soviet Forces)
• 01 May: Labor Day
• 19 Aug: National Day (Independent Sovereignty from Britain)
• 09 Sep: Masood Day, commemorating the assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Masood
• 10 Sep: Eid al-Fitr (After a month of fasting, Afghans visit and/or entertain their friends and give gifts)
• 15 Nov: Eid-al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice — commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s devotion to God)
• 16 Dec: Ashura (Shi’a day of mourning commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husayn at the Battle of Karbala in 680 C.E.)

Note: The week prior to Eid al-Fitr is an appropriate time to provide performance or other types of bonuses to Afghan national employees such as interpreters/translators; dates for religious holidays are approximated; each year the holidays are adjusted to the lunar calendar