Waging Peace

Paktia Province, Afghanistan.

This remote outpost on Afghanistan's eastern border is home to only a handful of highly-trained Green Berets, but their mission may be one of the most important to the long-term peace and stability of the region as well as America's ultimate victory in the war against the Taliban.

They aren't engaged in the types of battles one might normally think the Special Forces would do - kicking in doors and taking down bad guys. They won't hesitate to "go kinetic" if necessary, but the kind of work they've been doing lately in this far-off firebase has a lot more to do with diplomacy than destruction. It's the classic SF mission - leveraging small numbers of soldiers to defeat the larger enemy. This is accomplished by working the population to their advantage, mapping the human terrain and training the locals to stand up against the enemies of peace on their own - through talking, teaching and the strategic application of humanitarian aid.

It's a complicated and often frustrating objective - the Afghans in this area are a fiercely tribal and violently suspicious people. But despite sectarian blood-feuds that have carried on for centuries, these "quiet professionals" are getting the job done - bringing warring factions to the table and refereeing talks that aim to stop the bickering and unite the tribes against a common enemy - the Taliban.

By convincing the families in this area to join forces with the coalition, the enemy is finding it more and more difficult to smuggle in supplies from neighboring Pakistan. That has a direct impact on the Taliban's influence throughout Afghanistan, giving the fledgling government here more time to get its act together and extend its influence beyond Kabul. Its a daunting task that is nowhere near finished, but the Green Berets I'm living with say they are seeing progress day by day.

How does all this make America safer? These men's answer to that question is simple - the harsh reality is that the terror masters will never stop devising plans for our destruction, and if we don't stop them here, they will find a way to carry the fight to our shores again, as they did on 9/11/01.

Considering that most of these Green Berets have wives and children back at home, they aren't about to let that happen.

Chuck Holton
www.livefire.us