Slap

For starters, many--myself included--see the people as the objective not as a COG. We seek to secure and win over the population, undermining the insurgents' links with them. In such a case, the linkages between the insurgent and the population could be called a COG, especially linkages built on causes. But this article is built on a fundamental misinterpretation of the very ideas the author disputes. In any case, I see insurgency and counter insurgency to be entirely too complex to be a case of finding/identfying a COG, proclaiming a Guiness "Brilliant!", and winning the war.

Best

Tom