Important to Remember

Blackfive has a tribute to Capt. Travis Patriquin. Somebody you probably never heard of, but is someone who was important in "winning the war in Anbar" by circulating a very simple, animated power point presentation detailing the strategy of "tribal engagement."

Capt. Patriquin did not live to see his ideas bear fruit. He was killed in an IED blast December 6, 2006.

Kid Various fully supports the strategy of tribal engagement. It's necessary. But he wants to emphasize that it is a necessary evil. The tribal engagement strategy solidifies long-standing dysfunctional elements in Arab/Iraqi culture. The pre-Enlightenment tribal culture is the (long term) problem, not the solution.

Therefore, even though it is necessary to pursue this strategy because we must bring Iraq back from chaos, we should keep in mind - his is not a win. It is a loss.