Setting up effective, local security forces

[davidbfpo]

Hat tip to WoTR for this commentary cum book review of Walter C. Ladwig III, The Forgotten Front: Patron Client Relations in Counterinsurgency (Cambridge University Press, 2017):

The King’s College London professor takes direct aim at FM 3-24, and the West’s thinking on counterinsurgency, specifically its naiveté that the patron and client will share common political goals if the patron is doling out large sums of cash to the client.
(Later) Ladwig shines a bright light on some of the deficiencies in counterinsurgency literature and the United States’ naiveté about its relationship with its clients. His goal is to improve the West’s performance in future counterinsurgency battles.

Link:https://warontherocks.com/2017/08/ho...ency-campaign/

[davidbfpo]

Not sure what to make of this. It is a short Q&A with the brigadier that mainly concerns leadership and selection.
Link:https://thearmyleader.co.uk/speciali...ry-leadership/

[davidbfpo]

Thanks to MWI @ West Point for the pointer to this article in JFQ and from MWI's pointer:

This highlights a substantial problem with Western SFA: it is too focused on building an army in the absence of a viable state that has the institutional capacity and political willpower to sustain that army.

Link:https://mwi.usma.edu/cant-build-army...ce-assistance/

Link to JFQ:https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/...gdp0w4FR7UKGk/

[davidbfpo]

A small number of threads, many stand alone posts, have been merged here. Several threads refer to the theme, but have been left alone.