Transcript: Charlie Rose interview with David Kilcullen [Petraeus' counterinsurgency advisor]

International Herald Tribune - Americas ^ | October 8, 2007

[syriacus]

Kilcullen: "I think we have found over the last three or four years of evolution of the conflict in Iraq that the more we focus on the population and protecting them, the easier it is to deal with the enemy. The more we focus on the enemy, the harder it is to actually get anything done with the population. "

"WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO EXPAND ON THAT? BECAUSE YOU'RE FROWNING."

[syriacus]

Click on the "printer friendly" link to get the best version.

Kilcullen did a wonderful job at deflecting Rose's attempts to make the US look like nothing more than a bunch of bumblers in Iraq.

He would carefully listen to Rose's questions and comments and then deal deftly with Rose's spin.

[Roberts]

bump for later reading.

[JimRed]

Bump to save for later.

[Dilbert56]

Yes, ROse was definitely more biased than just being a "Devil's Advocate" would require. Great line on counterinsurgency. After all the talk about political considerations, he added: "And killing the enemy, killing the insurgents is one of the best ways of convincing the population they are not going to come back, right?"

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Great article. It demonstrates that the white flag, surrender monkeys have it wrong.

[syriacus]

CHARLIE ROSE: So in other words, as they stand up, we stand down? Is that the idea?

DAVID KILCULLEN: Well, that's rather a simple way of describing it than I would say. What I would say is that...

CHARLIE ROSE: It wasn't original with me.

DAVID KILCULLEN: I have no opinion about that. The rate at which you build local capacity drives your exit strategy. OK? The faster you can stand up effective forces and effective governance structures, particularly, then the faster you can exit from the campaign.

[Dilbert56]

Another money quote: "And I think what has happened, particularly in Anbar and other places, is people have realized they are being exploited by a bunch of guys who don't have the interests of the Iraqi people at heart. And I think also the foreign fighters coming in have realized that if you want to -- if you want to contribute and you want to be part of the Iraqi resistance, going with the al Qaeda way is just a ticket to, you know, you'll make a two-second, two-nanosecond contribution, and then you'll be a flash and you'll be gone. So I think people are realizing that, you know, al Qaeda's approach is not the way to go."

"Awakening" is a good term for it.

[syriacus]

Kilcullen: "And killing the enemy, killing the insurgents is one of the best ways of convincing the population they are not going to come back, right?"

Yes! An important part of a great rebuttal to the folks who say that we can't make the Iraqi people feel secure.

[sauropod]

read

[syriacus]

See also: Kilcullen at SWJ [Small Wars Journal]

[syriacus]

More discussion by Kilcullen of tribes turning against AQ at Anatomy of a Tribal Revolt