ALL IN
THE EDUCATION OF
GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS
PAULA BROADWELL
WITH VERNON LOEB
THE PENGUIN PRESS
New York
2012
THE PENGUIN PRESS
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in 2012 by The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © Paula Broadwell, 2012
All rights reserved
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Broadwell, Paula.
All in : the education of General David Petraeus / Paula Broadwell with Vernon Loeb.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-101-55230-8
1. Petraeus, David Howell. 2. Generals—United States—Biography. 3. United States. Army—Biography. 4. Iraq War, 2003—Biography. I. Loeb, Vernon. II. Title. III. Title: Education of General David Petraeus.
E897.4.P48B76 2012 2011043881
355.0092—dc23 [B]
DESIGNED BY NICOLE LAROCHE
Map of Afghanistan by Jeffrey Ward
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
TO MY THREE FAVORITE TROOPERS,
SCOTT, LUCIEN AND LANDON BROADWELL,
AND TO THOSE WHO SERVE
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Ulysses”
“This isn’t double down, Mr. President. It’s all in.”
—General David Petraeus to President George W. Bush in the Oval Office, January 23, 2007, on the eve of the surge in Iraq
CONTENTS
Map of Afghanistan
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Cast of Characters
Preface
CHAPTER 1: GROUND TRUTH
CHAPTER 2: RESULTS, BOY
CHAPTER 3: TRUE BELIEVERS
CHAPTER 4: SCREAMING EAGLES
CHAPTER 5: ANACONDA
CHAPTER 6: CLEAR, HOLD AND BUILD
CHAPTER 7: LINES OF OPERATION
CHAPTER 8: WASHINGTON AND BACK
CHAPTER 9: HIGH STAKES
CHAPTER 10: TRANSITION
CHAPTER 11: DRAWDOWN
CHAPTER 12: MASK OF COMMAND
CHAPTER 13: STILL ALL IN
Photo Insert
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: Counterinsurgency Guidance Letter
Appendix B: COMISAF's COIN Contracting Guidance
Appendix C: Anaconda Strategy
Appendix D: Engine of Change
Notes
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ABPAfghan Border Police
A-CAATAfghan Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team
ALPAfghan Local Police program
ANAAfghan National Army
ANPAfghan National Police
ANSFAfghan National Security Forces
APRPAfghan Peace and Reintegration Program
BCTbrigade combat team
CAATCounterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team
CENTCOMU.S. Central Command
CERPCommander’s Emergency Response Program
CFSOCC–ACombined Forces Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan
CIACentral Intelligence Agency
C–IEDcounter–improvised explosive device
CIGCommander’s Initiatives Group
CINCcommander in chief
CJCSChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
CJIATFCombined Joint Interagency Task Force
CNASCenter for a New American Security
CODELcongressional delegation
COINcounterinsurgency
COMISAFCommander, International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan
CORDSCivil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support
CPNcriminal patronage network
DHSU.S. Department of Homeland Security
DODU.S. Department of Defense
EKIAenemy killed in action
EODexplosive ordnance disposal
FAOforeign area officer
FATAFederally Administered Tribal Areas (Pakistan)
FOBforward operating base
GIRoAGovernment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
GMICGovernment Media and Information Center
GOVNGovernment of the Republic of Vietnam
GPSGlobal Positioning System
HASCHouse Armed Services Committee
HQNHaqqani network
ICGInternational Crisis Group
IEDimprovised explosive device
IJCISAF Joint Command
INLBureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
ISAFInternational Security Assistance Force
ISRIntelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
JRTCJoint Readiness Training Center
JSOCJoint Special Operations Command
KIAkilled in action
MEDEVACmedical evacuation
MLRSMultiple Launch Rocket System
MNSTC–IMulti-National Security Transition Command–Iraq
MOIMinistry of the Interior
MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle
NACNorth Atlantic Council
NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCOnoncommissioned officer
NDSNational Directorate of Security (Afghan)
NGO nongovernmental organization
NOFORN no foreign nationals
NROLFSM NATO Rule of Law Field Support Mission
NSANational Security Agency
NSCNational Security Council
NSSNational Security Staff
NTCNational Training Center
NTM–A NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan
ODA(Special Forces) Operational Detachment Alpha
OP observation post
OSDOffice of the Secretary of Defense
OTANOrganisation du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord
PICC Palace Information Coordination Center
PIDpositive identification
POTUSPresident of the United States
PRTProvincial Reconstruction Team
&
nbsp; PTDSPersistent Threat Detection System
RCRegional Command
ROLFF–A Rule of Law Field Force–Afghanistan
SASCSenate Armed Services Committee
SEALSea, Air, Land teams
SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
SIGACTS significant activities
SMUSpecial Mission Unit
SOCOMSpecial Operations Command
SOTFSpecial Operations Task Force
SRAPSpecial representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
TBItraumatic brain injury
TF task force
UAVunmanned aerial vehicle
UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
VTC video teleconference
VSO Village Stability Operations
WIA wounded in action
CAST OF CHARACTERS
David M. Axelrod: White House senior adviser.
Joseph Biden: Vice president of the United States (January 2009–present).
Lieutenant General James Bucknall: ISAF deputy commanding general at ISAF headquarters.
Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell: Commander, NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan; commander, Combined Security Transition Command–Afghanistan (November 2009–present).
David Cameron: Prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Major General John F. Campbell: Commander, ISAF Regional Command East (June 2010–May 2011); 101st Airborne Division commander. Promoted to lieutenant general in September 2011.
Hillary Clinton: U.S. secretary of State (January 2009–present).
Ryan C. Crocker: Ambassador to Iraq during Petraeus’s time there—his civil-military “wingman” in Iraq—and now ambassador to Afghanistan.
Karim Dad: Malik of Khosrow Sofla village in Arghandab District, Kandahar Province.
Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry: U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan (April 2009–July 2011).
Rahm I. Emanuel: White House chief of staff (January 2009–October 2010).
Lieutenant Colonel David G. Fivecoat: One of Petraeus’s protégés and his aide-de-camp in 2001–02 in Bosnia and during the 2003 invasion into Iraq. Commanded 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division; deployed to Ghazni and Paktika provinces.
Lieutenant Colonel David S. Flynn: Commanded 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division; deployed in the Arghandab River Valley, Kandahar Province, during Operation Dragon Strike.
General (Retired) John R. (Jack) Galvin: Longtime mentor to Petraeus. Petraeus served as Galvin’s aide-de-camp while he commanded the 24th Infantry Division, then served as Galvin’s military assistant while he was supreme Allied commander in Europe.
Major Jim Gant: Special Forces operator whose paper One Tribe at a Time: A Strategy for Success in Afghanistan influenced Petraeus’s thinking on the Afghan Local Police program.
Ambassador Simon Gass: NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan (April 2011–present).
Robert Gates: U.S. secretary of Defense (December 2006–July 2011).
Senator Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.): Member of the Armed Services Committee and an Air Force Reserve colonel who has served multiple short drill periods in Iraq and Afghanistan working on law-of-armed-conflict issues.
Colonel Bill Hickman: Petraeus’s executive officer in Afghanistan.
Chief Warrant Officer Four Mark Howell: Head of Petraeus’s personal security detachment (PSD).
Hamid Karzai: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
General (Retired) Jack Keane: Mentor to Petraeus, former vice chief of staff of the Army.
David Kilcullen: Australian-American defense intellectual and COIN theorist, key adviser to Petraeus during the Iraq surge.
Ambassador Hans Klemm: Coordinating director of Rule of Law and Law Enforcement, U.S. Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan (July 2010–present).
Peggy Knowlton: Petraeus’s mother-in-law.
General William A. Knowlton: Petraeus’s father-in-law, superintendent of West Point when Petraeus was a cadet there.
Senator Carl Levin (D–Mich.): Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee; ex-officio member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Senator Joe Lieberman (Ind.–Conn.): Senior member of the Armed Services Committee.
Major Fernando Lujan: Adviser, ISAF Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team.
Lieutenant General (Retired) Douglas E. Lute: National Security Staff coordinator for Afghanistan-Pakistan policy.
Nouri al-Maliki: Prime minister of Iraq (May 2006–present).
Brigadier General Mark S. Martins: Commander, NATO Rule of Law Field Support Mission; commander, Rule of Law Field Support Mission–Afghanistan. Worked in Afghanistan in various roles in CJIATF-435 from October 2009 to September 2011.
Senator John McCain (R–Ariz.): Senior member of the Armed Services Committee; ex-officio member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
General (Retired) Stanley A. McChrystal: Commander of USFOR–A/ISAF (June 2010–June 2011).
General (Retired) David McKiernan: General McChrystal’s predecessor, commander of ISAF from June 2008 to June 2009.
Brigadier General H. R. McMaster: Director of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force–Shafafiyat, author of Dereliction of Duty, Petraeus acolyte.
Colonel Mike Meese: ISAF deputy chief of staff (August 2010–July 2011), head of Social Sciences Department at West Point, Petraeus’s peer at Princeton.
Brigadier General Scott Miller: Commander, Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan (March 2009–June 2011).
Haji Shah Mohammed: Arghandab District governor during Operation Dragon Strike.
Saad Mohseni: Founder of Tolo TV and CEO of its parent organization, Moby Group.
Admiral Mike Mullen: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (October 2007–September 2011).
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) John Nagl: Counterinsurgency theorist and Petraeus acolyte. President of CNAS.
General Mohammad Naim: Kandahar’s chief of the National Directorate of Security during Operation Dragon Strike.
Colonel (Retired) Keith Nightingale: Longtime mentor of Petraeus, who served under him in Vicenza, Italy, as a second lieutenant. Nightingale had commanded a company in the 1/75th Rangers when Petraeus first met him. He later served as a leader of the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission and the Grenada invasion and helped form the Army Ranger Regiment.
Barack Obama: President of the United States of America.
Michael O’Hanlon: Defense analyst at the Brookings Institution.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Douglas Ollivant: Senior civilian adviser in Regional Command East for the Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team and former Army officer who worked closely with Petraeus during the surge in Iraq.
Mullah Mohammed Omar: Leader of the Afghan Taliban movement.
Colonel Bill Ostlund: One of Petraeus’s platoon leaders when he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Leon Panetta: Director of Central Intelligence (February 2009–June 2011), U.S. secretary of Defense (July 2011–present).
Anne Petraeus: The general’s daughter.
Hollister “Holly” Knowlton Petraeus: Wife of General Petraeus.
Miriam Howell Petraeus: Petraeus’s mother.
Sixtus Petraeus: Petraeus’s father, a Dutch sea captain.
Stephen Petraeus: Petraeus’s son, an infantry platoon leader in Wardak Province with the 173rd Airb
orne Brigade Combat Team.
Robert Pittman: Retired master sergeant who worked as an adviser for the Asymmetric Warfare Group. Died from wounds suffered in an attack in Kandahar Province on July 30, 2010, during the Battle for Bakersfield.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: NATO secretary general.
Colonel Abdul Raziq: Key leader in the Afghan Border Police. Later would become interim Kandahar provincial chief of police after a Taliban assassination.
Lieutenant General David M. Rodriguez: Commander, ISAF Joint Command (March 2010–July 2011).
Donald Rumsfeld: U.S. secretary of Defense (November 1975–January 1977; January 2001–December 2006).
Mohammed Zia Salehi: Chief of administration for the Afghan National Security Council.
Ambassador Mark Sedwill: NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan (February 2010–April 2011).
Captain Andrew Shaffer: One of Lieutenant Colonel Flynn’s company commanders in the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Rear Admiral Gregory J. Smith: ISAF deputy chief of staff for communications (June 2009–February 2011).
Specialist Michael L. Stansbery: Soldier of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, who died from wounds suffered in an IED attack on his unit in Kandahar Province on July 30, 2010, during the Battle for Bakersfield.
Sergeant Kyle B. Stout: Soldier of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, who died from wounds suffered in an IED attack on his unit in Kandahar Province on July 30, 2010, during the Battle for Bakersfield.
Lieutenant Colonel J. B. Vowell: Commanded 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division; deployed in Kunar Province, along the Pakistan border, during Operation Strong Eagle I.
General (Retired) Carl Vuono: Chief of staff of the Army (June 1987–June 1991). Petraeus served as Vuono’s aide-de-camp and assistant executive officer during this time.
Haji Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi: Kunar provincial governor during Operation Strong Eagle.
Chris White: Petraeus’s roommate at West Point.
PREFACE
I first met General David H. Petraeus in the spring of 2006, when I was a graduate student at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. After two tours in Iraq, including command of the 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion, he was visiting Harvard to speak about his experiences and a new counterinsurgency manual he was developing as the three-star commander of the Army’s Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It would get its first real test run a year later, during the surge in Iraq, with Petraeus himself in command.