Respect: applying it across cultures essential to success

David Axe writes yesterday that the many "tactical" incidents of disrespect shown to our Afghan partners by US Forces is resulting in a major strategic problem. I think that's somewhat obvious based on recent reporting coming out of the region.

The issue may even result in the ultimate failure of our efforts in Afghanistan. From the article:

Mark Jacobson, the former NATO deputy senior civilian representative in Kabul, said he sees the writing on the wall. “If the trust, ability and willingness to partner falls apart, you are looking at the endgame here.”

Axe's reporting leads me to two observations. One, we don't seem to understand what is meant by "respect" as it applies to the Army Values. Two, the way we interact with the Afghans seems flawed.

Ask any Soldier about the Army Values, and "Respect", and I would venture to guess you'll get a response that goes something like this: "Oh, yeah, respect is important. I mean, we should respect each other despite our differences; black, white, Hispanic, even gay...whatever you are."

You see, I think we've too narrowly focused the issue of repsect towards an inward acceptance for diversity when in fact it is an issue that reaches well outside the Army and into the people we come in contact with wherever we are...CONUS or deployed. Everyone, even our enemies to some degreee, deserve respect.

I may be out on a limb, but to me it's a basic human rights issue. People deserve to be treated with respect, for their culture, personalities, capabilities...just for being human.

This does not negate our mission to close with and destroy the enemies of our nation, in accordance with our Constitutional responsibilities. But, Soldiers need to know that while it's great they show respect for other Soldiers, the Army Values require them to show that same respect for those outside the Army as well.

Then there's the issue of strategy. Maybe it's time to admit we are not trained swell enough to have so much interaction with foreign partners who are so culturally different from us. SF troops and Civil Affairs types go through years of training in order to understand and work with foreign nation armies and peoples. To expect a 19-year old from Philly to be able to successfully negotiate the intricacies of Afghan culture after a 2-hour block of instruction and a tri-fold pamphlet is probably too much to ask.

I think it may be time to separate Soldiers from the Afghans, let the pros do the interaction, and allow our regular Joes to do what they do best--kill the enemy.