Insubordination is contagious

It is now the turn of a French general to be in the hot seat for speaking a little too freely about the strategy in Afghanistan and its civilian instigators. General Vincent Desportes, who commands the prestigious French Joint Defense College (Collège interarmées de défense) gave an interview to Le Monde (July 2) on the war in Afghanistan and what he considers the failure of the COIN strategy:

“The traditional COIN doctrine as engaged by McChrystal over the past year, with limited use of fire […] to reduce collateral damage, does not seem to function. […]”

“Among the troops, a movement that puts into question the “winning hearts and minds” mode of action has become increasingly influential. This reinforces the gap between the troops and the general strategy. But it is not possible to wage a war against the soldiers’ morale.”

(The article is accessible to subscribers only, but extracts can be found here and there—I take all responsibility for the crude translation)

Michael Hastings would be proud: the worsening gap between senior officers attempting to implement a COIN strategy and increasingly doubtful troops was the true subject of his article, obscured by the McChrystal and staff locker room comments. Le Monde is definitely not as rock n’roll as Rolling Stone, but it is both more prominent (in France, that is) and influential. There is no confusion here as to whether Desportes really meant for his thoughts to be printed on paper—and for the widest possible audience.

Desportes also has a lot to say about US decision makers. He criticizes Obama’s call to fire McChrystal as “revealing a weakness.” Coming back on the “surge” decision, he adds that “It looks as if the president was not too sure of his choices.” According to the general, 30,000 additional soldiers was a useless middle ground: “Everybody knew it had to be zero or 100,000 more. We don’t wage half-wars”.

Here I have to stop and wonder where we would have found 100,000 more troops… Probably not in France, since Desportes concludes that Afghanistan is “an American war”, adding that “when you have only 1% of the shares, you don’t have the right to speak”. Does this imply that coalitions are viable only when partners contribute more or less equally? Or only as long as there is a consensus on the strategy?

General Vincent Desportes does not have as much to lose in terms of career: he is retiring in a few weeks. And, as Jean-Dominique Merchet at Secret Defense reminds us, Desportes is not a first-time offender: suspicions that he was a member of the anonymous group who strongly criticized the French White Book on Defense published in 2008 cost him a fourth star.

French Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Edouard Guillaud called Desportes’ opinion “unwelcome” and “irresponsible”. The case of General Desportes is now in the hands of Defense Minister Hervé Morin, who has to decide what sanctions to take. Desportes obviously does not have the clout of a McChrystal, but such statements are certainly not going to help win the case for a war that remains increasingly unpopular in France.