Afghanistan

Downrange: An Informal Report on a trip to Afghanistan with Marine Gen. James N. Mattis

By Steven Pressfield | Published: March 12, 2010

Part One of Four

Gen. Mattis in Marjah, Helmand province, 28 Feb 2010

1. Jim Mattis is a four-star Marine general. He doesn’t go out of his way to be quotable; he just can’t help himself.  Here, from Iraq 2004, are his instructions to the Marines under his command on how to conduct themselves with the natives they will encounter.

Be polite.  Be professional.  But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

In the first battle of Fallouja, Gen. Mattis commanded the Marines assigned to take the city. There came a point during the fighting when Mattis had to negotiate with the Sunni sheikhs and Baathist ex-army officers who claimed they wanted to quit, but whose acquaintance with the truth had been a little dubious.
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Posted in Afghanistan, Editorial, Featured Posts
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Afghanistan

An Open Letter to Gen. James Jones, National Security Advisor

By Steven Pressfield | Published: October 9, 2009

[This week has been a rough one for our troops in Afghanistan--and a contentions one among policymakers here in the States.  I'm going to interrupt our ongoing interview with tribal chief Ajmal Khan Zazai to post this open letter.  The same note was sent by e-mail two days ago to the parties below.]

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Posted in Afghanistan, Agora, An Interview with an Afghan Tribal Chief, Editorial
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Afghanistan

“One Tribe at a Time”

By Steven Pressfield | Published: September 28, 2009

The thoughts and I ideas that I will put forward in this paper are mine alone. Although I credit the U.S. Army Special Forces for the training I have received and the trust of [its] commanders, nothing in this paper reflects any other person’s or organization’s ideas.

Maj. Gant and ODA 316 in Afghanistan 2004

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Posted in Afghanistan, Agora, Editorial, One Tribe At A Time
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