The quick read on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's Afghanistan "assessment" is that the general is asking for more troops -- and, as the refrain always seems to go, who can argue with the commander on the ground?

But McChrystal isn't just asking for more troops, and he makes this very clear at several points in his paper. He writes:

Additional resources are required, but focusing on force or resource requirements misses the point entirely. The key takeaway from this assessment is the urgent need for a significant change to our strategy and the way that we think and operate.

I spent this week's upcoming column dealing with this "significant change" -- -- which officially and emphatically repeats his unconscionable call for "population protection" at great peril to our troops --  but just wanted to note in advance that this strategy change is so important to McChrystal that he also writes:

Without a new strategy, the mission should not be resourced.

The new strategy is a hearts and minds abomination and the mission should be completely reconceived.

Hint: Following through on Washington's committment to Islam-free analysis when dealing with the Islamic world, the McChrystal assessment never once mentions Islam. This  gets beyond ridiculous when "assessing" the Taliban (see here how they "assess" things themselves.). And hint: The outdated focus on  Afghanistan ignores  the jihadist movement's switch to multiple safe havens as discussed here.

But worst of all is the emphasis on winning so-called hearts and minds -- as though an infidel nation can, in essence, win over an Islamic one. Too bad McChrystal et al never came across this quotation fromThe World of Fatwas or the Shariah in Action by Arun Shourie, sent to me by Andrew Bostom: 

To ask for the well-being of a Kafir, be he ever so saintly, even upon his death, to fail to believe that a Muslim, be he ever so sinful, is better than a Kafir, be the latter ever so virtuous, is kufr [unbelief] itself.

Such thinking kind of puts a damper on hearts and minds, eh, general?

FLASH: A Marine Mom-friend just called in to alert me to a hearts and minds story currently making the rounds with Marine Moms, and making them extremely upset, I should add. It's called -- no kidding --  "Marines Go Shopping to Win Afghan Hearts and Minds." Good thing we've spent hundreds of millions of dollars to training this army ... to shop.

Marine Moms know this is extremely dangerous for the Marine; the children could be suicide-belted (it's happened before ...).

More to come.