Recommended Reading
Top Billing!:New York Daily News-Dr. John Nagl – We can still win the war: Things are grim in Afghanistan, but victory remains in sight
….The war in Afghanistan is winnable for three reasons: because for the first time the coalition fighting there has the right strategy and the resources to begin to implement it, because the Taliban are losing their sanctuaries in Pakistan and because the Afghan government and the security forces are growing in capability and numbers. None of these trends is irreversible, and they are not in themselves determinants of victory. But they demonstrate that the war can be won if we display the kind of determination that defeating an insurgency requires.
….Counterinsurgency campaigns are not won by killing every insurgent and terrorist. The most committed terrorists have to be killed or captured, but many of the foot soldiers and even the midlevel leaders can eventually be convinced through a combination of carrots and sticks that renouncing violence and becoming part of the political process offer a better chance for success than continuing to fight. American troop reinforcements in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where the insurgency is strongest, along with more effective drone strikes and an increasing Pakistani commitment to counterinsurgency, are putting more pressure on the Taliban and giving the Afghan government an opportunity to outgovern its enemies.
I have made a number of harsh criticisms of AfPak policy recently and fairness requires some equal time to a cogent and vigorous defense, which Dr. Nagl mounts in his op-ed. This is most likely just the opening shots in what may be an increasingly heated debate as the US moves into election campaign season this fall.
Thomas P.M. Barnett – Hollowing out Afghanistan’s local government and Blast from my past: PNM’s “New Rules for a New Crisis”
The secnd post by Dr. Barnett is good for those readers who are unfamiliar with his influential concepts from The Pentagon’s New Map.
SWJ Blog – Dave Dilegge – The Great COIN Debate in JFQ, Almost… (Updated)
Col. Gian Gentile vs. Dr. John Nagl at ten paces with flintlock pistols….or laptops.
Registan.net Michael Hancock – Unconscionable Story
A brutal dissection of the ignorance of Ted Rall.
Abu Muqawama – Afghanistan: Graveyard of Assumptions? (Updated)
See Top Billing comments above.
GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – The Father Of Us All
I once saw a professor yell “The Greeks did it all first!”. While not as extreme, this post is a pleasant nod in the direction of constructing arguments about strategic policy based on history, especially military history, instead of on theory.
WSJ.com Shelby Steele – Israel and the Surrender of the West
Unusually firey rhetoric from Steele in defense of Israel.
Max Boot replying to Andrew Exum and Michael Cohen responding to Boot. Then Fabius Maximus responds to Boot.
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