McChrystal strategy defended

WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- A shift in military tactics in Afghanistan may result in more U.S. combat fatalities but may make the broader objective more effective, analysts say.

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander of combat forces in Afghanistan, has reassessed the use of American air power amid mounting concerns over civilian casualties.

A May 4 attack in the Farah province of Afghanistan claimed as many as 100 civilians as U.S. combat forces responded with close-air support.

A U.S. military investigation into the Farah operation found the rules of engagement were broken during the air raids.

"Air power contains the seeds of our own destruction if we do not use it responsibly," McChrystal said last week. "We can lose this fight. When we shoot into a compound, that should only be for the protection of our forces."

He warned mounting civilian casualties could undermine the effort to win "the hearts and minds" of the domestic population, a centerpiece in the U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine.

A review of McChrystal's comments by James Joyner, managing editor of the Atlantic Council, says airstrikes maximize force protection but undermine the strategic objectives of counterinsurgency campaign, such as the one envisioned for Afghanistan.

"If the mission were simply one of enemy force attrition, then the speed, lethality, and surprise afforded by Predator and other systems outweigh the ill will caused by killing noncombatants," he writes. "In a counterinsurgency or stability mission, however, that's not the case."