One of the unusual aspects of reporting on military affairs in Canada is that, unlike in the United States, here there is a relative scarcity of highly informed, experienced and independent commentators available to put events into perspective and deliver expert analysis.

In the U.S., there are many huge players who consistently deliver the kind of critical commentary we lack here. (It’s not that journalists don’t try, it’s just that we don’t always have the expertise, never mind the credentials to be, uh, super credible.)

Of all the U.S. commentators, one of the groups I find indispensable are the (mostly retired military) academics at the Centre for a New American Security, which is a kind of quasi-think-tank and advocacy group rolled into one.

Just yesterday, CNAS released a report about the mission in Afghanistan, authored by Lieutenant General Dave Barno (retired) and Dr. Andrew Exum, that very neatly put the changing situation there into perspective.

Drop the combat-heavy counter-insurgency soon, they argue, and focus instead on strengthening the Afghan security forces through every means possible (which is what Canada is now focused on doing). The report is highly worth reading for anyone interested on the way things might — probably should — unfold over the next little while.

“U.S. and coalition forces must shift away from directly conducting counterinsurgency operations and move toward a new mission of  ‘security force assistance:’ advising and enabling Afghan forces to take the lead in the counterinsurgency fight.”

It’s not a long report, so you can read it in its entirety here.