Navy SEAL Reed Kitchen concludes that after 10 months in eastern Afghanistan last year, the U.S. military is using the wrong yardsticks to measure progress:
Let’s rewrite our metrics of success to reflect our effect on the population, with measures such as: economic activity at bazaars, unsolicited enemy reporting from villagers, and longevity of local officials; as opposed to the input metrics of enemy killed, dollars spent, and Afghan troops trained.
Good after-action report on his tour over at Small Wars Journal.