The David Kilcullen Collection (merged thread)

[Rank amateur]

But Germany isn't counterinsurgency.

Knew you were going to say that. How about Somalia? The public was supportive until the bodies showed up on TV. (Yes you can say Clinton was a wimp - that word is for Ken - but he was responding to the Metz effect.)

--In Iraq today, are we so concentrated on operational success that we're setting ourselves up for strategic failure by empowering local security forces?

I'm still working my way through the presentation - and this is a bit simplistic - but it seems to me that end result of a successful COIN effort is always a political deal where everyone gets most of what they want except for the foreign counter insurgent. So I'd say the answer depends on whether you consider that a strategic success or strategic failure for us.