Lawrence of Afghanistan

On November 25, I published a link to Major Jim Gant's online essay, One Tribe at a Time, and suggested that Mr Obama could do worse than adopt it as his new-new Afghan strategy. I assessed the chances of that as little or none. But according to the Washington Post today, the chances have suddenly and hugely improved:

'A decorated war veteran and Pashto speaker with multiple tours in Afghanistan, Gant had been assigned by the Army to deploy to Iraq in November. But with senior military and civilian leaders -- including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; and Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command -- expressing support for Gant's views, he was ordered instead to return to Afghanistan later this year to work on tribal issues.

'"Maj. Jim Gant's paper is very impressive -- so impressive, in fact, that I shared it widely," Petraeus said, while McChrystal distributed it to all commanders in Afghanistan. One senior military official went so far as to call Gant "Lawrence of Afghanistan."'

If you aren't willing to read his monograph, at least look at the WaPo's slide show with a narration by the major. It's the essence of his argument. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford