For Jedburgh
Appreciate the link to RAND's "On 'Other War,' " and your pointing out the section on cost/benefit...Worth highlighting (again) the cautionary note on p.25 of the study with regard to a widely accepted "truism":
"[RAND analyst] Wolf further attacked the argument that increasing the standard of living through development would reduce insurgency"
Wolf was right on VN. Others may judge the value of Wolf's point in the current conflicts...
The logistical underpinnings of the SE Asian insurgency included an important, symbiotic component--put simply, the more materials became available to the economy, the more they were siphoned off to be used by the enemy. We even had a name for the well developed organizational network tasked with "diversion/local procurement" for the enemy, the "Shadow Supply System," which was an important VCI function. Without question, breaking the "System" was the CORDS advisorial priority in our border Province of Tay Ninh, hub of the System, during the last couple of years of CORDS's existence (and incidentally, one at which we failed miserably).
Cheers,
M.
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