On Retraction
SmallWarsJournalBlog – I only really liked this part of the post –
This is different from early strategies which were enemy-centric (focusing on killing insurgents), or more recent approaches that relied on training and supporting Iraqi forces and expected them to secure the population.
The next step is retracting into the Baghdad core while handing off and then retracting altogether.
This sounds surprisingly like the track “grand strategy” is taking:
- First we have an offensive designed to kill the gap members which collapses.
- Then, in an effort to remain politically viable, politicians shift funding to the black budget to train “them” to fight for us without the troop footprint.
- And when the decentralized nature of this conflict prevents any real impact from being made, we progressively retract toward resiliency over offensive efforts. And then the real work can begin.
Put a timeline on this and the real clock can start ticking. That’s how long we have to solidify the inklings and ramp up a resiliency based community.
-Shlok
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