Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
I will never argue that a purely military option cannot effectively suppress an insurgency. Merely that it cannot not resolve one. It is not the decisive element of COIN.
Really? That again calls into question the idea of qualifying something as "COIN." - Insurgents can try to take over legitimate governments. Insurgents/Irregular forces, do not always have a legitimate case. Algeria in the 1990's and Sierra Leone being good examples - and many others. War is politics. Why assume the Government or existing power structure is always at fault?
Military action can and does force "insurgents" to seek non-violent means. That is the aim, as it is in almost any conflict of that type.