All,

Ok, as the author of this debate, I imagine I have a duty to show up and either defend my position or fall back. This is all very interesting, and very helpful to me to see which points spoke to people (good or bad). This is definitely a spiral development learning process for me, and I am constantly refining my thinking and will absolutely look seriously at all of the comments provided here.

In review of the article, I probably tried to put the proverbial 10 lbs into a 5 lb bag, and there are some points that weren't given adequate context to make them as clear as I should have. While these few comments won't clear up all of the controversy, perhaps they will help:

1. Insurgency and all of the related mission-sets (UW, COIN, FID, CT, etc) all strike at that most fundamental and emotional of relationships:that of between a populace, its governance, and those outside actors who would intervene to influence that dynamic. In the end, the difference between a successful campaign and a failed campaign is generally one of nuance. A fair criticism was "there is nothing new here." True enough. Insurgency has not changed. What I had hoped to offer that was new was perhaps some small nuances on the various aspects of this dynamic that I believe would tilt our engagement toward being both more in tune with how we see ourselves as Americans, and toward greater success as well.
2. One thing that has changed is the environment. The real heart of the current surge in globalization is the way populaces are connected with each other like never before. This means that the counterinsurgent has a much tougher job. Governments, like never before, must actually perform. While all governments are likely to fall short in this regard, they better ensure that they have at least provided their populace with legitimate means short of insurgency to express their dissatisfaction. PCE is designed to recognize this new environment. No longer is being an effective counterinsurgent enough, nor is simply running an elaborate information campaign. Populaces like never before have access to information that gives choices as to who to grant sovereignty to, and also gives them courage to act (i.e., they know they are not alone, and they don't have to belive the official gov't line).
3. Lastly, while I do not advocate that the U.S. caused the problems currently going on in the middle east, we do, I believe, need to take responsibility for our actions there. This was a major Cold War battlefield, and 60 years of policy aimed at denying the Soviets access to the region left scars that can, and should be addressed. We did what we needed to do to win, and there is no need to apologize for that. Now we must do what we need to do to move forward. In my view, that is to put both the governances and the populaces of the region on notice that we believe in the principle of Popular Sovereignty and certain principles (uncolored by current concepts of US Democracy or US values applied to those principles); and to be more a global mediator than a global policeman. This will require a strong mix of carrots and sticks; and will be met with healthy skepticisim by governments and populaces alike.

Not sure if this helps, but I stand by for additional intellectual punishment!