Remind me - who are we fighting again?

Not quite so buddy-buddy

Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book, Little America: the War within the War for Afghanistan, is published in Britain tomorrow. It highlights the internal conflicts between the British and the American military over strategy in Helmand Province in 2009-2010 when the two army commands fell out with each other in spectacular fashion over how to deal with a resurgent Taliban. I have little doubt that in the years to come the British military campaign in Helmand will be seen as one of its least successful since the end of the Second World War.
A couple of points caught my eye in the extracts published today in the Guardian:
First, was the reaction of shock from US marine commander Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson when he was sent to the British-controlled section of Helmand:
"He abhorred the establishment of front lines that they (the British - ed.) did not cross, and he recoiled when he saw how Afghan soldiers were segregated in camps on British bases. He advocated genuine partnership, not a vestigial colonial attitude toward the natives, and that meant eating and living together. What riled him the most, however, was the British reconstruction team. The team's members had their own views about which parts of the province merited military attention, and those did not always mesh with Nicholson's."
Second, was the reaction of Nicholson's officers to the "frequent parties and social events" that occurred in the British Reconstruction Team's offices in Lashkar Gah. "It wasn't as wild as the US embassy in Kabul, but Nicholson's officers were nevertheless incredulous when they learned that the office had held an alcohol-sodden "Lash Vegas Pimps and Hos" bash while the marines were struggling to pacify Marja." Anyone got any pics?