There are many serious indictments of their culture. They have an extremely high infant mortality rate, a maternal mortality rate to match. The list goes on…

While most Afghans (other than the elders and those who benefit directly from the status quo) realize that there is a better way, and they want to move towards it, it has worked for them, after a fashion.

They are still there. They beat the Soviets. They are a proud people. The arguments against their culture sound very much like the arguments against the Native Americans 150 years ago, really.

Despite all of the medieval horror of their daily lives, life went on as it had for centuries. They lived as their father and his father and his… ad nauseum.

It is a process, and that process is a marathon, not a sprint.

These are some of the intricacies and frustrations of COIN. This is part of why it is difficult work and not everyone, not every military professional, finds themselves up to the task. It’s hard.