This is a portion of a Michael Yon post on Facebook.
The quotes below are Michael Yon's comments he posted with the picture:
"Have been in many briefings. Some very high level, others private with with general officers, colonels and others. Good prep for the field. Will meet with General Petraeus privately after lunch. What's standing out so far is how much SoF are partnered with Afghan SF, and how much they are damaging the enemy. (Like yesterday.) Check out these numbers from last 90 day period:"
"Am told that about 90% of these are Afghan-partnered and a big number are Afghan led. Enemy mid-level leadership has been beaten down to the point that enemy commanders tend to be in their mid-twenties. Most give up when cornered, according to what I am told, and sing like birds when caught. The best trained enemy commanders are mostly dead or locked up. Senior leaders are in Pakistan apparently afraid to come over."
"I've been saying for some time now that it appears that we are making real progress (finally), but have been reluctant to say so in firm terms. Must see how it plays out. However, based on my journeys in the field, these high-level briefi...ngs are consistent with what I have been seeing. Bottom line: This is a wild country, and we are surely making progress in some geographical areas, and in government areas such as building the Afghan security forces. That much is obvious. It's also plainly obvious that the Taliban are damaged and bleeding. No question about it. But they also are very tough and don't quit easily. They are in the fight and fully engaged, but are being beaten. That is just my opinion."
"... in SW depends on where you are talking about. Nimroz, or Helmand is probably where you are talking about. Much progress in Helmand, which you pr...obably know was very bad even earlier this year. Still dangerous and has been fighting there last 24. Nimroz, where I've been unembedded, has no real Coalition presence and is a transit area. Some enemy activity, sparsely populated. Very hot! North of that is Farah where I was a couple months ago and have been several times. More criminal stuff out there than real enemy (but there no-kidding enemy out there); ultimately Farah will likely be an Afghan problem with Afghan solutions. Meaning Farah will keep being Farah. I've driven around out there and been to some villages without troops during different trips. A little dicey, but not like Helmand was, or Kandahar."
Michael Yon is a former Green Beret who has been embedded with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004. He is self-funded. His website is michaelyon-online. He is one of the few people I trust to tell the truth about Afghanistan and Iraq.
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