The American Approach to Counterinsurgency

[marct]

Hi Steve,

I don't think that trading with us requires us to make a commitment to a given regime. And that's what our traditional approach to COIN was. That's what I'm getting at--stabilization operations don't entail support to a given regime. Traditional--or what Frank Hoffman and others call "classical"--COIN does.

That's an interesting question. While I would agree with you in the abstract, historically there has been a very strong tie between setting the conditions of economic activity and recognition and support for the government that allows this to happen. That's why I chose the free trade example...

I agree that stability operations do not, again of necessity, require support for a given regime, and it's one of the reasons why I actually approve of more of a move to stability operations . The problem I was trying to raise was in situations where commitments have already been made.

And on our word being any good, what I'm suggesting is that we should be more selective in regimes we make a commitment to. In the past, we've made a commitment to any regime facing first a communist, now an Islamic extremist threat. I believe we should only make such a commitment to a regime that is truly committed to systemic change, not just to its own survival.

I totally agree with you on being selective about which regimes you make agreements with. It has certainly been a problem in the past and is still a problem. I will, however, disagree with you on a requirement to make systematic change. In some instances, that is probably both necessary and desirable for all concerned, but in others, say Thailand, it is ridiculous. It is the sort of requirement that led to the monarchy not being restored in Afghanistan (which has increased resentment here).

Taken to its logical conclusion, which, I'll admit, is a bit of a reductio ad absurdam , this puts the US squarely back into the same role of the 5th Comintern - a regime that is bent solely on exporting reflections of itself.
If that sounds silly, which I'll admit it does, how do you think people in other nations will view it?

I'm being purposely confrontation here, Steve, because I'm hoping that you will start to think about this outside the US-centric box (try thinking like a Canadian ). I don't really think that the US will start acting like the Soviets , but WMs scenario of isolationism is a definite possibility.

Marc