If we lose hearts and minds, we will lose the war

Spectator, The, May 23, 2009 by Kilcullen, David

At best - very best - the international community must expect to have a significant presence in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future. Success is eminently possible, but only if we remember how we really won in 2001: through partnership with Afghans.

That means we must act, first and foremost, to preserve popular support and rebuild the alliance with Afghans that toppled the Taleban in the first place. Otherwise we should all start reading Olaf Caroe again. He served on the frontier through two Afghan wars, numerous tribal uprisings and the chaotic carnage of Partition, and knew whereof he spoke. In Afghanistan, you fight with and for the people's support. Or you lose.

David Kilcullen, author of The Accidental Guerrilla, was Special Advisor for Counterinsurgency to the Secretary of State, Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq, and Chief Counterterrorism Strategist of the US State Department. He is a former Australian infantry officer who has worked in Afghanistan and in Pakistan's tribal areas since 2006.