Quote Originally Posted by Jedburgh View Post
Operation Banner: An Analysis of Military Operations in Northern Ireland
The author of this report is a very good friend of mine, and it's about the best COIN study ever done by the UK.

However, there are simply too few, if any, similarities between NI and Iraq. The UK fired more rounds in 1 year in Basra than they fired in 30 years in Northern Ireland.

The real benefit of NI to other COIN environments was that the UK has developed a highly effective and professional approach to COIN that most other armies, (exception being the IDF) have lacked. When, at the height of the violence, PJHQ asked UK troops if they thought the ROE were too restrictive, the answer was generally no. Everyone understood what was professional, and what was not. - That is about the best lesson anyone can take away from the UK NI experience.

...and yes, I think we won. We convinced the IRA that whatever they did, the British Army would never leave.