LAST week, 4,000 US Marines launched a major operation in Helmand, the poppy- queen province in southern Afghanistan. The Marines performed magnificently, reaching their objectives with minimal casualties -- mostly from the 110-degree heat. But something important was missing: Afghans in uniform.

A few hundred Afghan players showed up in the backfield. But the village elders saw American guns.

The Marine mission is to provide security for villagers, build trust and instill confidence in the Kabul government. This would all be far easier if the Afghan military and police were competent, trustworthy and present.

After 7½ years in Afghanistan and despite extensive efforts, we and our NATO allies have produced only a now-you-see-'em-now-you-don't Afghan army. The police are corrupt, partisan and loathed by the population.

We made better, if imperfect, progress in Iraq. Yet there, too, questions remain about the integrity of the military and the utility of the police.

What's the problem? Why haven't years of effort and billions of dollars, coupled with our training expertise, forged fully reliable military units and constabularies? The answer lies in our own military culture.

As an officer, I knew I could walk into any Army outfit and find 100 percent support for the assigned mission. It didn't matter whether or not we liked each other personally, or which state we were from, or what our religion or ethnicity happened to be. We were all American soldiers.

But the various peoples we called "Afghans" (or "Iraqis") have very different values. In Afghanistan, an ethnic Tajik lieutenant isn't sure he can rely on a Pashtun major. In Iraq, a Shia officer may not share all he knows about the enemy with a Sunni counterpart. Continued here......