Gen. David Petraeus' Strategy for Afghanistan: It Works

Lost in the furor over the disgraced Gen. Stanley McChrystal is this simple truth: The counterinsurgency strategy championed by his successor, Gen. David Petraeus, works.

Awaiting his confirmation by the Senate early next week as the new commander in Afghanistan, Petraeus is assembling his war staff and planning how to tackle his biggest and most immediate problems: the stalled offensive in Kandahar, the lackluster performance of the Afghan army and police, and the ragged relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

As chief architect of the counterinsurgency strategy he implemented in Iraq and which McChrystal adapted to Afghanistan a year ago, Petraeus knows that aggressively combining security with appropriate political and economic action -- with a good dollop of humility that puts the Afghans in charge -- is a long-term but sure road to success.

In short, as many soldiers in Afghanistan have shown me, the strategy works. But it takes time and patience.

There's a terrific example of this in Small Wars Journal this morning, and it's worth a read. Written by two officers of the 2^nd Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade, "Three Cups of Tea and an IED'' captures in compelling detail what Petraeus, and the nearly 100,000 U.S. troops under him, hope to accomplish in the next 12 months.

Over numerous cups of chai -- just as Greg Mortenson described in his bestseller, "Three Cups of Tea" -- the American team of soldiers and representatives of USAID, the State Department and the Department of Agriculture collaborated to support local Afghan leaders in the Arghandab district of Kandahar Province, building security, local government and job opportunities.

Tragically, the aging warlord and district governor with whom the team worked was assassinated, but the effort continues.

"While we grieve for our Afghan friends, we must strive to continue the momentum of progress in Arghandab and Kandahar,'' the two officers write. "If we get this right, someday we'll be able to return to an Afghanistan without our uniforms and visit the grave of our dear friend.''