(Onder het commando van de Amerikaanse viersterren-generaal Stanley McChrystal heeft de internationale troepenmacht ISAF nieuwe richtlijnen voor de operaties in Afghanistan uitgegeven. McChrystal zei vrijdag in Den Haag dat de richtlijnen ook zijn vertaald in het Pashto en het Dari, de twee belangrijkste talen van Afghanistan. Dit opdat ook de Afghanen zelf op de hoogte zijn van de wijze waarop ISAF-militairen geacht worden op te treden.  De ISAF Commander’s Counterinsurgence Guidance is gedateerd op 26 augustus 2009. Onderstaand de samenvatting. Het volledige document (7 pagina’s) staat op de website van de NAVO).ISAF Counterinsurgency Guidance: Kev Points
The Afghan people are the Objective. Protecting them is the mission. Focus 95% of your time building relationships with them and, together with the Afghan government, meeting their needs.

Get rid of the conventional mind-set. Focus on the people, not the militants. By earning their trust and helping an accountable GIRoA gain the support of the people, you take from the enemy what he cannot afford to lose — the control of the population.

Embrace the people
– Think before you act. Understand the consequences of your actions — how you drive, how you patrol, how you relate to people, how you help the community. View your actions through the eyes of the Afghans. If we harm Afghan civilians, we sow the seeds of our own defeat.
– Be an expert on the local situation. Build connections and hold routine jirgas. Afghan culture is founded on personal relationships. Listen to the population and adjust accordingly. Earn their trust. Develop their ownership in the solution. If they sweat for it, they will protect it.
– Be a positive force in the community; shield the people from harm; foster stability. Use local economic initiatives to increase employment and give young men alternatives to insurgency. Demand that CERP, CIMIC and other capabilities support these efforts. Help Afghans solve Afghan problems.

Partner with ANSF
– Live, eat, and train together, plan and operate together, depend on one another, and hold each other accountable — at all echelons down to soldier level. Treat them as equal partners in success.
– Their success is our goal. Respect them; put them in the lead and coach them to excellence. Build Governance Capacity and Accountability
– Facilitate and enable transparent and accountable governance from national to community level. Insist government officials serve the people; support those who do.
– Confront corrupt officials. Protecting the people requires protection from physical harm, corruption and abuse of power. With your Afghan counterparts work to change corrupt behavior that adversely affects the people and the mission. If the behavior does not change, demand the Afghan higher leadership take appropriate action.

Get Better Everyday
– Learn and adapt to the environment. Keep your skills sharp. Improve daily.
– Learn how to shape the environment, and how to achieve greater effects with the people more quickly. Listen to and learn from our Afghan colleagues.
– Communicate and share ideas. Challenge the conventional wisdom if it no longer fits the environment. This is a battle of wits — learn and adapt more quickly than the insurgent.