used by people with no understanding of the practice of COIN warfare who wish to convey to people who know even less than they do about the subject that they are subject matter experts.

Galula suggested in his introduction to Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and practice that plenty of people offer slogans, the difficulty comes in operationalising them.

I am increasingly convinced that the only people who can use the term 'hearts and minds' without any sense of irony or embarassment are 6pm news anchors, undergraduates attempting the 'explain COIN in 2,000 words or less' essay and charlatans.

Cheers

Mark