As General McChrystal steps down as Commander of the NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, a new RUSI report argues that British operations in Helmand Province are showing signs of significant progress, thanks partly to the success of the counter insurgency strategy and the leadership of the departing General. The report was written by Professor Theo Farrell, Department of War Studies.

British operations in Helmand Province are showing signs of significant progress, thanks partly to the success of the counter insurgency strategy and the leadership of General Stanley McChrystal, argues a new report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Although recent US media reports have noted the slow advancement of the US-led operation in Marjah, they have failed to recognise the ‘encouraging progress’ in Nad-e-Ali, according to the author of the report, Theo Farrell, Associate Fellow at RUSI and Professor of War in the Modern World at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

Professor Farrell indentifies that insurgents have been pushed to the outskirts of the district; that freedom of movement for civilians and security forces has been ‘dramatically improved’; public services and the police are getting better and there is even an effective governor and representative community council in place. The RUSI Briefing Note, ‘Appraising Moshtarak, the Campaign in Nad-e-Ali District, Helmand’ identifies that there are clear signs of success in the British-led campaign in the Nad-e-Ali district. The initiative is one half of Operation Moshtarak, the simultaneous US-UK offensive that was launched in February 2010.

‘Strategic patience’

Professor Farrell attributes the British success in Nad-e-Ali to ‘strategic patience’: British military and civilian advisors have been working hard for the last 18 months to develop local governance and push the Taliban out of the district. He also highlights the importance of ‘the McChrystal effect’ in reinvigorating the campaign under ‘clear strategic direction’.

The report identifies the success that the political-led, population-centric counter-insurgency campaign is having in Nad-e-Ali and the added value of executing it in full partnership with the Afghan security forces. It suggests that the Moshtarak counter-insurgency characteristics of close engagement with the national, provincial and district authorities, combined with a focus on gaining and maintaining population support, is proving effective.

‘The number of significant violent events in Nad-e-Ali has fallen to 15 per cent of that before Operation Moshtarak. Freedom of movement for civilians and security forces within the district has dramatically improved. The district has an effective governor, and relations between the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army have greatly improved. Most important of all, as a key indicator of progress, there was excellent local turnout (some 3,000) at the three election shuras for the District Community Council, and a new, enlarged and more representative body was elected on 12 May.

‘Operation Moshtarak demonstrates that in Southern Afghanistan, ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force) is practising what it preaches – a political-led, population-centric approach to counter-insurgency that is generally well integrated with Afghan national security forces (ANSF). It also shows how ‘the McChrystal effect’ – the reinvigoration of ISAF’s campaign under clear strategic direction’ has been amplified in the South by a beefed-up Regional Command (South) under Major General Nick Carter and his UK 6 Division HQ.’

‘The evidence from Operation Moshtarak suggests that COMISAF has been successful in this endeavour. General McChrystal has also sought to improve unity of effort across ISAF, and to this end he established a new three-star command, ISAF Joint Command. ‘The McChrystal Effect’ has been widely reported, and indeed is palpable in ISAF HQ.’

[Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army]

McChrystal effect helping to turn the tide

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McChrystal effect helping to turn the tide