Time for a FM 3-24: Counterinsurgency Update

[Infanteer]

As simple as that? Now I am begining to understand where it is all going wrong out there...

Well, in 7 months of COIN I did three things:

1. Employed Basic Infantry Doctrine;

2. Tried, as much as possible, to know my backyard; and

3. Respected/Observed Afghan culture.

To me, nothing here requires a new manual. If I'm missing anything, please enlighten me.

only correct IF you got trained right in the first place.

Well, that is sort of implied. If I send a poorly trained person to do something, I'm probably not going to get the results I want.

b.) We keep learning? Sorry, what crushes a rebellion hasn't really changed. What has changed is the constraints place by policy.

Agreed - anyone can be defeated, we just aren't willing to acknowledge or accept much of that threshold these days (Jim Storr said that in a conversation we had). I think today's junk-COIN is an effort by the military to find something around that. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it's just farting around with no real solution (because you aren't approaching that threshold).