Counterinsurgency's Failures, from Afghanistan to Vietnam
About the Episode
After weeks of finger-pointing and accusations about the catastrophic US retreat from Afghanistan, we’re taking a step back to ask some big-picture questions. What if the problem isn’t the exit, but the strategy that started the intervention in the first place: counterinsurgency? US Naval War College author Jacqueline Hazelton joins Deep Dish to explain what went wrong and why we’re doomed to repeat our mistakes if we don’t shift strategies.
Key Moments
- Defining counterinsurgency doctrine (COIN) - 2:24
- Elite politics vs. “Winning Hearts and Minds” - 7:19
- Why its so hard for outside powers to influence local choices - 13:42
- Civilians as tools - 15:48
- Breaking insurgents’ will to fight - 18:53
- Use of force - 22:40
- The Afghanistan case - 25:33
- Policy lessons for the United States - 31:32
Reading List
- Jacqueline argues against the "Hearts-and-Minds Myth" for Foreign Affairs
- Max Boot explains why "America Still Needs Counterinsurgency" in Foreign Affairs
- How to think about counterinsurgency after Afghanistan from Defense One
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