Did We Lack Doctrinal Depth Going Into Afghanistan Regarding The Rules Governing Jihad
Saigon in slow motion
Tammy Swofford
18 August, 2012
Did we lack doctrinal depth going into Afghanistan regarding the rules governing jihad, the oral traditions regarding ambush?
Three events cascaded within a short period of time last week. It gave pause to place a few thoughts on paper. My nephew left Afghanistan and placed his boots back on American soil. It was his second tour of duty, the first deployment being to Iraq. Then Friday, before the thin white line formed on the horizon, three US Marines (Special Forces) were gunned down during a meal hosted by an Afghan military commander. The following day, my youngest son and I went to the theatre and saw the first movie trailer released for Zero Dark Thirty, the upcoming film about the Osama bin Laden raid. The trailer put me in a foul mood.
How is it possible that men trained very much like the Navy Seals who executed a high risk and successful operation were picked off so easily by an arms-bearing counterpart in Afghanistan? Perhaps it goes back to what I told my nephew when he came to see me prior to his second deployment. Grip the arms of your chair tightly. I advised this relatively young man. “Do not turn your back on them. Do not let your guard down. Do not be complacent. It may be the last thing you will ever do.” I made him promise me. Twice.
It is pleasant to consider that the Pentagon remembers the lessons of the past, those learned in Vietnam. It is where the US military first put a ‘win hearts and minds’ paradigm into play. Vietnam was the initial military laboratory for a two-pronged foreign engagement for a regional conflict that sought to beat back communism whilst also making our policies palatable within a distinct cultural setting.
Military planners have also sought the same in Afghanistan, where no rock is overturned regarding culture and traditions. We assure the locals there is little desire on our part to strip the women of hijab, introduce alcohol to their youth, or import western values. The politico-military climate in Afghanistan has been such that at times it is detrimental to the spiritual needs of some of our own troops; those who speak the name of Jesus. So we have on the one hand, trod lightly within the culture due to a military doctrine that dates from the Vietnam era, whilst on the other hand, we have sought to pound the hell out of the Taliban and foreign nationals who have hearkened to the battle cry.
Islamic warfare doctrine has specific allowances for an asymmetrical environment. Afghanistan provides the mixing bowl of an ancient civilisation with tribal roots and rugged mountain ranges. This makes it a great proving ground for Islamic warfare concepts. The asymmetrical aspects of Afghanistan allow the art of the kill to be summed up in one time-honoured word: ambush. And that ambush comes in the form of weapons assault and explosives-laden paradise-seekers.
Abrogation (Arabic root: N s kh) of Qur’anic text regarding ambush dates back to an incident known as the Nakhla raid, when a caravan of men from the Quraysh were ambushed while cooking a meal. Commerce thrived for the caravans that plodded along the eastern coast of the Red Sea from Makkah to Syria. Travel was especially brisk during the designated ‘forbidden months’ of safe passage (1st, 7th, 11th and 12th months on the Islamic calendar). Qur’an 2:217 provided the after-action support for a breach in Arabic tribal tradition. Fighting was now allowed during all months, and al-Fitnah against Muslims was declared to be worse than killing.
Abrogration of text also changed the acceptable battlefield ratio of 10:1 odds against the Muslims to 2:1 odds, after the Muslims gained military strength and tactical expertise against their enemies (Qur’an 8:65.66). Once again, guidance for an asymmetrical space.
Rules were instituted to guard against rout and panic and dealing with a superior force. Turning the back to the battle was only allowed to join another group and perhaps in James Bond fashion, die another day. The Muslims had the concept of an ‘Army of One’ long before it became a logo of the US military.
Did we lack doctrinal depth going into Afghanistan regarding the rules governing jihad, the oral traditions regarding ambush? The historical backdrop with writings from the poets and jurists of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties note acts of ambush to give battlefield advantage. Geopolitical Islam within a conflict zone moves differently than we imagine it. The operational tempo is “...as long as it takes.” Americans view things in a decade-incremental manner. The Afghans span the centuries with a patient gaze. One day, we will be gone. They and their children will remain. Time is on their side. So is their history of endurance.
The name of Allah is spoken over the arrow and the dog giving chase in the hunt. Jihad begins with intent, the gallop of the horse, and long before the scent of the battle reaches the nostrils of the steed. The man dying on his bed while travelling to a land of stationing is given full honour funeral adaptations for a shaheed.
So, the counterpart we are training may wait patiently for months, or even possibly years, to spring the trap. What does the ticking of minutes have to do with an Islamic time-space continuum? Not much.
Was my guidance the correct course of action? I believe it was wise counsel in the light of my studies on jihad within an asymmetrical battle space. Should our men in uniform give the respect of rank to the Afghan counterpart? Absolutely. Nevertheless, the gift of complacent trust sets the stage for ambush. Three of our men with the highest level of training available lost their lives. They let their guard down. They walked into an ambush.
As we wind down in Afghanistan, there will not be a defining ‘win’, rather a lot of spin. This may not be Saigon. But it is Saigon in slow motion for the families receiving back their dead, killed in such manner as meted out in Afghanistan.
The writer is a freelance journalist.
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\08\18\story_18-8-2012_pg3_6
URL: https://newageislam.com/war-terror/lack-doctrinal-depth-going-afghanistan/d/8329