The Abandonment of Nuristan

Ghosts of Alexander posted comments on the US decision to abandon a series of outposts in Nuristan province along the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan.

I was on the first SF team that went up into Nuristan in early 2002. It was obvious then that the province was key terrain along the Pak border that needed attention before the Taliban resurgence that inevitably came.
We laid the groundwork for cooperation with the border keepers in the region, but like many of our endeavors, it fell to the wayside when we rotated out and more conventional troops moved into our basecamp in Konar.

I feel badly for the soldiers that were killed recently when their outpost in Nuristan was overrun. I have no intel on what the circumstances of the attack were, and I'm skeptical about news reports, but in these cases it's my opinion that someone broke one or more of the 3 principles of patrolling - Planning, Reconnaissance and Security.

Abandoning Nuristan will turn out to be a very bad decision in the war in Afghanistan.