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AFGHANISTAN DEFIES THE US BATTLE PLAN

Brian M Downing

Asia Times, May 13, 2009

The United States is entering a new phase in the war in Afghanistan. This approach to fighting the Taliban is based on counter-insurgency thinking: building indigenous police and military forces, providing services to villagers, and winning support from fence-sitters and insurgent sympathizers. It is hoped that in this way, years of neglect can be made up for.

Prior to the Vietnam War, counter-insurgency thinking became a new and even adventurous way of defeating wars of national liberation. After the war it was seen as the path not taken that accounted for the United States defeat there, but the Pentagon avoided making it part of its doctrine.

Since the remarkable turn of events in Iraq, where a counter-insurgency program is said to have won over many Sunni fighters, the doctrine has recovered some of its talismanic qualities in the public and has become a new creed in parts of the US military. Although new thinking is needed in Afghanistan, counter-insurgency will face organizational problems there.

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