Sorry Blues, but I wasn't that impressed with the article. I think that Boyd is an interesting character that at some point I will look into more, but he tends to be placed upon a shrine by many 4GW folks, which makes me wary to an extent.
He totally gets Franks wrong - Franks plan was to create FOBs around Baghdad and then use targeted raids to complete regime collapse. It was 3ID and the division (MG Blount) and brigade (COL Perkins) commanders that pushed the idea of the Thunder Run to the Republican Palace up the chain. Additionally, the Israeli experience among others had demonstrated that armored assaults were effective in urban terrain and that it wasn't quite the bogeyman that this article makes it out to be.
Next, his Stryker rant is ridiculous. The information is out and has been out there about the slat armor. In fact, if he had been a member of WAB, he would have known this a long time ago.
He misses the boat about Afghanistan. The success of the SOF in toppling the Taliban regime is certainly striking, but to not mention the Northern Alliance and extensive use of proxies is remiss (although probably not a suprise since I suspect his concentration is more on air power). Without the Northern Alliance, there wouldn't have been success by SOF only.
Lastly, it misattributes the success of the Anbar Awakening. The Anbar Awakening didn't come about because of GEN Petraeus. The groundwork was laid in late 2005 by 3/6 Marines out in Al Qaim and culminated with 1/1 AD in Ramadi in late 2006. Far from requiring swordlessness, it required a lot of sword to demonstrate that the Marines were a stronger tribe than AQIZ. In essence, it combine using the sword and swordlessness to achieve the desired tactical and operational success. Where GEN Petreus comes in is in taking this out of Anbar and using it as part of a coherent, nationwide COIN campaign.
So, while the rant touches on some interesting topics that could be explored to a more fruitful outcome, other than being a feel good piece that grossly simplifies a lot of things, I don't give it high marks.
