A NATO bid to win the Afghanistan war, one shura at a time

At the recent shura in Panjwayi, Canadian Army officers planned it all – from helping set the agenda to configuring the seating arrangements – though they left all the talking during the meeting to the Afghan Army and district governor.

Despite the intricate involvement, Canadian Army Maj. Christian Lillington rejects the idea that preparing outreach efforts in such detail could make their Afghan counterparts more puppets than independent, equal partners.

“If there’s something in that community that is dysfunctional or preventing us from having positive momentum then clearly we’ll have to say to the governor, ‘Look, honestly, for us to facilitate your work as the governor and for the development to come in from ISAF or outside agencies … these are some of the items we need to address,’ ” says Major Lillington, who commands Panjwayi’s Operational Coordination Center.

More questions than answers

Among the nearly 50 elders who turned out for the recent shura, most seemed uninterested in the government’s justification for the recent Canadian-Afghan Army operation and more concerned with friends and family who had been detained as a result.

Haji Baran, the district governor, said he couldn’t speak about the arrests because detainees were still being processed and questioned. As Mr. Baran dodged questions, tempers flared and villagers shot questions at him. Baran invited people to visit him at the district center later in the week when he had more information. With no other questions, the shura dispersed, with many of the locals seemingly just as frustrated as they were before the meeting.

The Canadian military, however, deemed the meeting a success, because it established a channel for them to follow up with the Afghan military and government officials.

“As cathartic as it would be to just talk about the issues, if they knew full well that there would be nothing [that happened afterwards], I don’t think people would show up, I don’t think most people would deal with it,” says Lt. Aaron Lesarge, an information operations officer for the Task Force Kandahar 1-10 Battle Group.

“I think most people have a belief in the system to a degree, and that’s why they came.”

Related:

• Afghan Taliban hone hit-and-run tactics, assassination campaign
• Seeking reconciliation, US unit meets remote Afghanistan tribes
• In Afghanistan war, a kinder, gentler night raid?

Previous

1 | 2