Petraeus says civilian endeavors important in war strategy

PROVO — Before Gen. David Petraeus revised the Army's counterinsurgency manual, there was one line that said, "Money is the best ammunition in counterinsurgency."

"Well, not if you're being shot at," Petraeus told the Deseret News Thursday before his lecture at BYU. "So we qualified it. Now, it's something like, 'Money can be among the best.' I added a caveat, because real ammunition is really useful if you're really being shot at."

As a four-star general and leader of U.S. Central Command, Petraeus has seen his share of bullets.

And while bullets are a crucial component of any battle, he said, so are reconciliation strategies and reconstruction plans.

"You cannot kill or capture your way out of an industrial-strength insurgency," he told a packed audience at BYU in an update on CENTCOM activities.

"It's about civilian endeavors, getting at the reason that part of the population … might be given to join extremist elements and why the conditions might prompt that."

One example of civilian endeavors was a battle in early 2008, when within 24 hours, troops in Iraq went from defeating the local militia to reconstructing the city and providing humanitarian assistance.

That ability to build, not just destroy, is helpful for troops' morale, Petraeus told the Deseret News.

"We often talk about what is it that keeps our troopers raising their right hand … to re-enlist," Petraeus said. "And I think it's because they realize the importance of what they're doing. Seeing the effects of their work in local levels … is pretty heartening."

After his initial remarks, Petraeus — who previously commanded the 101st Airborne Division and the Multi-National Force - Iraq — took questions from the audience.

Two lengthy lines immediately formed, and Petraeus deftly shifted from discussing nuclear proliferation in Iran to the problem of creeping militarization and to counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan.

His comments will be rebroadcast on KBYU 11 and BYUtv. Petraeus also sat down for an interview with KSL-TV's Bruce Lindsay, which will be shown at 9 a.m. Sunday on "Sunday Edition."