Expeditionary Eagle: Outmaneuvering The Taliban

Herein lies the full story of what happened in Afghanistan. U.S. troops had fought well, but lacked enough light-infantry skill and overall strategy to win. Because of how the U.S. government is structured, the Pentagon couldn't properly wage the non-martial aspects of 4GW. Nor could it focus on the enemy's source of unlimited funding—90% of the world's supply of opium. Pulling back into the cities had proven the kiss of death, because that nation's road system had offered a way to limit the movement of ordnance in and opium out. Vital to controlling the poppy fields and that road system had been outposting key villages, much as the USMC had done in Vietnam with its CAP program. In Afghanistan, Green Berets had already occupied many hamlets through a local detente with jihadists.