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The US has finally released a combined Counterinsurgency Field Manual that looks pretty damn decent, which means that it's the kind of manual that I would write (and I don't know that much). It places emphasis on legitimate government, public opinion, and political action as the fundamental tactics for Counterinsurgency, and sets the ground for a general shift in the military approach to Iraq. This is Counterinsurgency as formulated by the experts, and the Westmoreland approach looks nowhere to be seen. In short, it contains just about everything that the British told us before we entered Vietnam.
As much as I appreciate the DoD coming out with this thing, why couldn't they have come out with it forty years ago? Or, if that had failed, in 2003? Sometimes watching the Army adapt to things is like watching a man drowning in a sea of molasses. You aren't sure whether things are getting better or worse for him, but it's sure taking a long time for anything to happen.
Oh well, better late than never I suppose. This way we can use it for the next one.
As much as I appreciate the DoD coming out with this thing, why couldn't they have come out with it forty years ago? Or, if that had failed, in 2003? Sometimes watching the Army adapt to things is like watching a man drowning in a sea of molasses. You aren't sure whether things are getting better or worse for him, but it's sure taking a long time for anything to happen.
Oh well, better late than never I suppose. This way we can use it for the next one.