Simple gestures, large implications
In the United States, we are fortunate to have a large mixture of races, cultures, and different viewpoints from all around the world interacting on a daily basis with each other. The same cannot be said however for regions such as Afghanistan, where one major cultural group dominates the area. We always hear from people, don't shake with your left hand because it is considered unclean. This is just one of MANY cultural norms in the area that a good-ole-boy from Texas just won't be aware of. At first this may seem like a small issue...to offend a local by using the wrong hand, ya get over it, but the implications could be much larger than simply offending. On one hand (no pun intended), the person may be on the fence of his support for coalition forces vs. joining a terror organization. By you not understanding his culture enough to shake with the proper hand you are expecting him to know that you mean no offense. However, his misunderstanding of American culture could cause him to believe that you know it is disrespectful to do so. Knowing small gestures like this and what they mean are so important especially in regions such as Afghanistan where to win the war the U.S. must first win over the people.
Training doesn't stop at American Soldiers
As we rely more on the Afghan troops and relinquish more control to them, it is important to not only educate ourselves on their customs, but to teach them American ones as well. Rawlings (2012), brings up some really interesting observations about the Afghan Ministry of Defense's pamphlet on understanding people with different culture. The pamphlet stresses to not be offended when a NATO solider blows his nose in front of you, or by patting another solider on the back he is not being offensive (1). Stressing the importance of cultural understanding between NATO forces and the Afghan soldiers creates better working relationships and helps with training as well. Not only this, but the cultural understanding will flow into the societies and tribes in which the soldiers are living in. Word will spread and misunderstandings like this will happen less.
Working with Tribes
Afghanistan is dominated by different tribes who run different areas with leaders (usually elders) making decisions for the people within the community and area. As we pull out of Afghanistan it is becoming increasingly important to win over the support of the local tribal leaders to push out terrorist organizations. Bruno (2008) cites Robert Gates stressing the importance of tribal relationships by saying, "At the end of the day the only solution in Afghanistan is to work with the tribes..." (1). He goes on to explain that by working with the tribes and establishing relationships the U.S. is trying to create a back lash against the Taliban and ISIS. These relationships however do not come overnight and require NATO forces to become more aware of the not only the Afghan cultural norms but the sub-cultures within these communities as well.