NATO's Commander in Afghanistan - this is a war for the people

General McChrystal accompanied Afghanistan's Second Vice President, Karim Khalili, Helmand Governor, Gulab Mangal, and NATO Senior Civilian Representative, Ambassador Mark Sedwill, on a visit to Marjah in central Helmand this week, where the Afghan flag has been raised above the town after ISAF and Afghan forces recently cleared the area of insurgents in Operation MOSHTARAK.

See Related News to read more about the operation.

General McChrystal also visited Afghan, American, British, Danish, Estonian and French troops at Camp Bastion.

He told the troops that the most important thing that they can do is to put themselves in the position of the local Afghans.

The General said that he spent 75 per cent of his time understanding the Afghan people and that, by doing this, it significantly reduced the need to deploy soldiering skills.

He then talked of Operation MOSHTARAK saying:

"2009 was all about condition-setting. We knew that we had to take a different approach to the operations in Marjah and Nad 'Ali.

"We were keen to let locals and the Taliban know three things: firstly, we are going to stay, secondly, we are going in as a partnership, and thirdly, Afghan forces are making the decisions."

A member of the audience questioned him on rules of engagement and the fact that Taliban fighters were using civilians as human shields. The General said:

"The rules are not fair. If we go after the fly with a sledgehammer we lose. The Taliban are goading the coalition forces to overreact."

He said this was a feature of counter-insurgency conflicts. The trick was to continue to develop our maturity in these matters:

"You almost have to be superhuman. Whilst being shot at you need to see the big picture, ask yourself what is the consequence of retaliation? This is a tough ask for our junior people."

He concluded by thanking each and every one in the room, saying:

"Everyone here could be somewhere else, probably making more money and being closer to family; instead you are doing something really hard for someone else - that makes you a pretty extraordinary group of people."

General McChrystal's visit to Marjah with the Second Vice President and Governor Mangal enabled the Second Vice President to engage with hundreds of local residents who gathered in the district centre and to hear their views, hopes and concerns for the future.

Following steady but sure progress by Afghan and international forces in clearing the Marjah area of insurgents and the explosive devices they left behind, Mr Khalili conveyed the determination of the Afghan Government to bring sustained security, improved governance and economic and social development to the area.

He made clear that the Government of Afghanistan will maintain a strong and enduring presence in the area. He stated that those who continued to oppose peace and security would be pursued vigorously, but that the Government would support fighters who chose to lay down their arms and rejoin society.

He called on all the residents to join and support the Government's efforts to enable progress for the benefit of all.

Following a long period with little influence or investment from the Government in Marjah, many local residents took the opportunity to question and challenge the Second Vice President and Governor Mangal on their specific concerns.

Many welcomed the improved security in the area and the recent deployment of the Afghan National Civil Order Police, but also expressed concerns over the previous behaviour and standard of the Afghan National Uniformed Police who will eventually be deployed to the district.

In addition, residents were anxious to hear the details of how and when more concrete support from the Government would arrive to rebuild the community given the insurgents who previously controlled the area failed to do so.

General McChrystal met with the Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF soldiers who have been operating in Marjah over the last two weeks and congratulated them on their achievements so far. He said:

"This is just a first step but it's been an amazingly good first step. If you look at what both Afghan and ISAF forces did, how little damage was done, and how few civilians were harmed, and yet how many are now protected, it's certainly amazing.

"The restraint, the maturity, the professionalism, that's what jumps out at me, and I don't think that's lost on the Afghans either."

Ambassador Sedwill welcomed the visit by Second Vice President Khalili and put the operation into its political context:

"What we've seen in the Marjah operation for the first time is central government really engaging in an operation of this kind. In the past these have been done at the provincial level and by the local police forces and the local army. For this operation we've had the central government directly engaged."

General McChrystal also urged ISAF troops this week to keep a clear-eyed focus on the mission; and to be cognisant that it's not about conventional warfare. He said:

"This is not that. This is a war for the people. It is both to protect them, and in that process, to win their support for their government. If we can't win [the Afghans'] support, we can't succeed. So every action we take ... has to be put in that context."

Praising the Afghan security forces, which 'fight and die bravely' while 'doing extraordinary things', General McChrystal said the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police still need to develop more leaders:

"They have great leaders, but not enough great leaders," he said, noting that US and NATO trainers embedded with the Afghan National Security Forces will speed up the leader development process.

He also expressed hope that these forces will help the Afghans stem the problem of corruption within the ranks:

"It is absolutely a cancer that will kill the force if it is not dealt with. The leaders know that. They want to go after it and we want to support them in any way we can."

General McChrystal went so far as to call corruption the greatest threat facing the Afghan Government:

"It is greater in my view, probably, than the insurgency, although the insurgency is more immediate, more obvious," he said. "Corruption is more corrosive."

He urged US and coalition troops to serve as models of integrity as they work with the Afghans, and to point out corruption and take action when they see it:

"Be an example. Use every different method to teach, to cajole and to report," he said. "We are not supposed to stand there and see corruption and not report it. We have to shine a light on it."

The Afghans ultimately must be the ones to eliminate corruption, General McChrystal said:

"We can't solve it. They have to solve it. But we have to provide the help, we have to provide the pressure, the support to go after it."