Observations from a friend in Afghanistan
A superb staff officer from my years at U.S. Southern Command, Colonel Bryan Sparling is the Communication Director for the ISAF Joint Command (IJC), working for my good friend Lieutenant General Dave Rodriguez. Bryan oversees the IJC’s work in Public Affairs, Information Operations, and Psychological Operations in Afghanistan today.
In a recent email to family and friends, he did a nice job of laying out the task ahead and the stakes, with a focus on information. I thought others might be interested in his thoughts and observations, and so I'm including him as a guest blogger today:
Members of the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agri-Business Development Team, meet with their counterparts from the Kunar provincial government to introduce the provincial agriculture leaders to get a better sense for how best to quickly assist the provincial government in providing more robust agricultural services to its citizens.
"The enormity of the mission here is hard to comprehend. It is truly audacious. We are simultaneously transforming a government and attempting to connect it to remote constituencies who deeply distrust central authority. We are building infrastructure: roads, dams, power grids, and Afghanistan's first railroad. And we are creating military and police forces while fighting side-by-side with them against an entrenched insurgency supported by a robust sanctuary in Pakistan.
Progress is being made, but it is painstakingly slow. This is in no way the same war that we entered in 2001. This war has become about much more. NATO is, with little argument, the most successful alliance in the history of the world. And the nations of NATO, along with others, have, here in Afghanistan, effectively pushed all their chips into the center of the table. The stakes are high. With no hyperbole, what is being tested here is the mettle of liberal democracy. The question in the air is whether the prosperous, free people of the world will stand and fight for their ideals against religious ideologues and criminal extremists empowered by global information technology. Without a doubt this is an information war.
Daily we fight lies. Ultimately it will be our actions that speak loudest and demonstrate to these people that we are not lying, that we are on the side of Truth, and that we honestly have their best interests in mind; that having a government responsive to its people and strong enough to enforce a monopoly on violence, having an educated populace and empowering another half of their population, women, to prosper are things that are truly in the Afghan, the Western and the American interest.
Pray for our leaders. This is a crucial year."
Bryan N. Sparling
Colonel (OF-5), U.S. Army
Communication Director, ISAF Joint Command IO Director
USFOR-A Kabul, Afghanistan
An Afghan National Air Force member looks on as civilians load ballot boxes into an Mi-17 helicopter in Jaghuri, Afghanistan, Sept. 20, 2010.
That sums up the year ahead accurately. We ARE moving forward with a focus on training the Afghan security forces and transitioning all security work to them. A good example of the Afghan security forces' increasingly capable work is the recent Parliamentary elections. Despite many boastful promises from the Taliban to disrupt them, the elections were safely conducted with only scattered and ineffective attacks, nearly 4 million votes cast, and roughly a 40% turnout -- comparable to parliamentary elections in many western countries.
Many challenges ahead, but with effective information operations, aggressive training programs, and a solid plan for transition, we can and will succeed.
Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Comments: 2
The author of the e-mail talks about fighting against lies and than says that the government of Afghanistan is a "liberal democracy." It is not. Afghanistan's government is based on Koranic Law so by it's nature violates a fundamental principle of a proper government, the separation of church and state. The women of Afghanistan will never acquire equality under such a system.
The Colonel in his e-mail suggests, "The question in the air is whether the prosperous, free people of the world will stand and fight for their ideals against religious ideologues and criminal extremists empowered by global information technology." I would reframe his question as his point of view is as much ideological as those the ISAF forces are supposedly fighting against. In short, the critical element the Colonel leaves out is "to what end?". The military will continue this effort with zealousness and professionalism, and as long as the taxpayers fund this unprecedented expedition. However, the question "to what end?" remains. This is a political question - one that the professional military officers should engage in - but failing a trip wire or other metric, it is an unrealizable goal. When is enough? When women can work as equals? (We don't even have income parity in western nations) When 60% of the population can read, 70%, 80%, 90%? When the tribal landscape has been redone and there is a republic or central government that is a sovereign over the areas found within the borders? When the Taliban are a minority (or potentially a majority) in a duly elected parliament? (We have seen this elsewhere in the Middle East) Until ISAF knows the answer to these goals and others, our forces are merely flying blind. I don't think the Colonel is going to get an answer to the question he is asking.