From Anthony Coredesman's, on his recent return from Afghanistan:
No one understated the challenges or timelines necessary to develop an effective partnership to transfer responsibility to the Afghans for governance at every level, to create truly effective Afghan security forces, and to transition to self-sustained development. Your officers demonstrated that success will require a long effort, possibly extending to 2020.
And touching on the issue that sparked the sister blog here, Seen Reconstructed, a long time ago, now:
The more critical task, however, is to ensure that Americans understand what is happening, what you are achieving, and what still needs to be done. This can only be done at the unclassified level, and my highest priority suggestion to you and the US country team is that the US command and country team in Afghanistan use the metrics, assessments, and threat analysis you have developed to issue an Afghan version of the report on "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq."
Americans need to see the progress you are making and the risks involved; they need to see the trend lines, and the challenges you still face. This reporting also must be provided at the unclassified level. One thing has not changed in the nearly 50 years I have been working with the military: gross over-classification is still the rule and not the exception. Support for a long and difficult war can only be built up by communicating as much as possible at the unclassified level.
At the same time, I would urge all of those who work on Afghanistan in the country team and in Washington not to repeat the failures of "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" - failures that still do so much to undermine its impact and credibility. It is not enough to respond to Congressional requirements. Effective communication must go further.
Americans need to see the progress you are making and the risks involved; they need to see the trend lines, and the challenges you still face. This reporting also must be provided at the unclassified level. One thing has not changed in the nearly 50 years I have been working with the military: gross over-classification is still the rule and not the exception. Support for a long and difficult war can only be built up by communicating as much as possible at the unclassified level.
At the same time, I would urge all of those who work on Afghanistan in the country team and in Washington not to repeat the failures of "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" - failures that still do so much to undermine its impact and credibility. It is not enough to respond to Congressional requirements. Effective communication must go further.
