tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293152265787061341.post6624716301679641137..comments2024-03-03T05:11:57.603-05:00Comments on Wings Over Iraq: This Decade in COINStarbuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02013102906896853767noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293152265787061341.post-13605712184418125282010-08-02T20:26:29.421-04:002010-08-02T20:26:29.421-04:00There are dozens of important strategic and tactic...There are dozens of important strategic and tactical lessons from these conflicts we best not forget, but I’ll only hit the most fundamental; <b><i>violence still works.</i></b> <br /><br />Any attempt of develop a kinder, gentler war which subordinates the role of killing and physical control is doomed to failure. In the short run, the only reason individuals choose to collaborate and participate as an insurgent is that they believe themselves to be on the winning side. Few like the Taliban; many more believe that the Taliban, having been rulers in the past, will again be so in the future. Only in the long run are motivations are more complicated. You cannot educate, develop, or govern your way to an acceptable outcome. Indeed, these are only supporting efforts.<br /><br />This does not suppose that we should indiscriminately kill and be violent, for violence’s sake. On the contrary, controlled, selective violence against only identified insurgents is more important than ever given the modern information environment. The history of conflict in Iraq will show that only once the counter-insurgent has gained the upper hand through violence and population control, can an acceptable outcome be achieved through negotiation, concession and reconciliation. Given the fact that war remains – and will always be – messy, violent, expensive and generally terrible, we should be very careful which conflicts in which we choose to involve ourselves and tie these efforts to a coherent and moral grand strategy that furthers our interests.<br /><br />NickUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628167646704484301noreply@blogger.com