Coin

Calling It Quits in Afghanistan

Malou Innocent | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: Islam, Nato, Coin, Counterterrorism, Afghanistan, Military Spending, Isaf, Counterinsurgency, Koran, Quran, World News
Malou Innocent

How many more American soldiers and innocent Afghan civilians have to die before the Obama administration withdraws from Afghanistan?

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US Can Still Win in Afghanistan, Military Expert Claims in NY Times Op-Ed

Michael Hughes | Posted 11.28.2011

Read More: Nato, Coin, Pakistan, United Nations, Taliban, Afghanistan, Obama, World, World News, World News
Michael Hughes

"Winning" is not an appropriate term, not to mention that it sounds ugly, triumphalist -- even passé. So, let's employ more meaningful parlance and ways of measuring success by asking such rudimentary questions as, "Are we achieving our security objectives?"

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COIN Classic, New COIN, Post-Modern COIN

Michael Brenner | Posted 10.03.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Coin, Iraq, Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, David Petraeus, Afghanistan War, World News
Michael Brenner

Exactly what is COIN? Simply put, it is the theory and practice of suppressing insurgencies that mix violent and non-violence methods to topple existing governments and to seize power. Indeed, COIN is a growth industry.

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Obama's Drone Surge in Pakistan Doing More Damage Than Good

Michael Hughes | Posted 09.11.2011

Read More: Islam, Al Qaeda, Petraeus, Coin, Cia, John Brennan, Terrorism, Pakistan, George W. Bush, Admiral Mike Mullen, Obama, World, Drones, Osama Bin Laden, World News, Foreign Policy, Islamic Extremism, Islamabad, Taliban, Afghanistan, World News
Michael Hughes

The facts unequivocally illustrate that the drone program is steering the U.S. away from achieving its national security objectives in the region.

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David Wood

After A Decade, Gen. Petraeus' Counterinsurgency Strategy Is Deemed A Failure

HuffingtonPost.com | David Wood | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Coin, Obama Afghanistan Speech, Petraeus, Afghansitan Troops, Afghan War Strategy, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Iraq, Counterinsurgency, Obama Afghanistan War, World News

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan signals the beginning of the end for the ambitious counterinsurgen...

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Amanda Terkel

Dem Senator Calls For A Change Of Strategy In Afghanistan

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 08.14.2011

Read More: Coin, Obama Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Counterterrorism, Pakistan, Af-Pak, Chris Coons Afghanistan, Afghanistan Withdrawal, 112th Congress, Afpak, Chris Coons, Afghanistan Withdrawal Timetable, Counterintelligence, Afghanistan War, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is calling for a change of strategy in Afghanistan, arguing the current course is unsustainable and the milita...

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Our Job in Pakistan

Taha Gaya | Posted 06.11.2011

Read More: Strategic Dialogue, White House, Reconstruction Opportunity Zones, US-Pakistan, Coin, Trade, Pakistan, Afghanistan, US Market Access, Foreign Assistance, Usaid, Roz, Politics News
Taha Gaya

We are already making smart development investments in Pakistan in energy and agriculture, but until we make credible game-changing investments in basic education, we can expect those gains to be unsustainable in the long-term.

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Petraeus Is Focusing on the Wrong Body Count in Afghanistan

Michael Hughes | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Nato, Coin, Civilian Casualties, War, Isaf, United Nations, David Petraeus, Petraeus, Taliban, Insurgents, Afghanistan, General Petraeus, Counterinsurgency, World News
Michael Hughes

Instead of focusing on metrics that matter, U.S. officials have decided to trumpet enemy body count. Apparently, the number of dead insurgents, not civilians, is now the barometer for determining the campaign's efficacy.

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Pentagon Assertions of "Progress" In Afghanistan Are a Bad Joke

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Targeted Killings, Civilian Deaths, Gates, Petraeus, Pentagon, Coin, Propaganda, Obama, Troop Increase, Rethink Afghanistan, Robert Gates, Civilian Casualties, Escalation, Spin, Taliban, Insurgents, Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Politics News
Derrick Crowe

The latest Petraeus/Gates media tour is under way in preparation for the general's testimony to Congress next week, and they're trotting out the same, tired spin they've been using since McChrystal was replaced in disgrace last year.

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Reagan-Era Defense Official Proposes Failed Vietnam Strategy for Afghanistan

Michael Hughes | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Kabul, Islam, World News, Petraeus, Coin, World, War Strategy, Obama, Karzai, Home, Mujahideen, Bing West, Islamic Radicals, Haqqani, Taliban, Frontpage, Afghanistan, Afpak, Counterinsurgency, Impact, World News
Michael Hughes

Bing West's archaic solutions are highly unlikely to show anyone how to get out of Afghanistan; however, they do have quite the potential to pave a road to perpetual war.

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Jeff Muskus

Nation Building: Roads, Laws, Cops, Jobs And The Challenges Of The Afghan Surge

HuffingtonPost.com | Jeff Muskus | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan Counterinsurgency, Coin, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Surge, Kandahar-Afghanistan, US Troops Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan War, Marijuana, World News

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- "Take a look at this," Tom Symalla says, reaching down to yank at a piece of gravel poking out from the surface of Morghan Ro...

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Axis of Agreement Watch: Joe Klein's "Lucky" Strategy

Josh Mull | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Robert Naiman, Coin, Afghanistan, General Petraeus, 2012 Election, Luck, Escalation, Rethink Afghanistan, Pakistan, Joe Klein, Mainstream Media, December Review, Longest War, Cost of War, Drones, Conventional Wisdom, July 2011, Civilian Casualties, Barack Obama, Politics News
Josh Mull

Obama would be wise to ignore Klein and decide not to play chicken with the numbers. Afghanistan will not magically right itself, particularly now as Petraeus can inflame the violence as much as he pleases.

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Failure of the Afghan Surge

James Denselow | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coin, Afghanistan Surge, Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan War, Holbrooke, World News
James Denselow

The reason why the US has been in Afghanistan for so long is not because it wants to be there but because it has no idea how to leave.

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Canada Says Goodbye to the Penny

Michael McGown | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coin, Canada, Federal Budget Deficit, Consumer Spending, Business News
Michael McGown

Pretty much everyone in Canada is in favor of getting rid of the penny. After all, the government spends 1.5 cents to manufacture a penny, so it makes good economic sense.

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Making Afghanistan Safe

Reese Schonfeld | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coin, Jieddo, Afghan War Strategy, Ugs, Unmanned Ground Sensors, Improvised Explosive Device, Afghanistan, General Michael Oates, Taliban, General Petraeus, Ieds, Afghanistan War, Peter Arnett, Politics News
Reese Schonfeld

"'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it": US Army Major to Peter Arnett 2/07/68 Vietnam "We had to destroy them to make them safe": Mu...

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Afghanistan: Six-Month Peace Possible if Combat Operations Stop

Jake Diliberto | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coin, Pentagon, Pakistan ISI, Counterterrorism, Pakistan, Mullah Omar, Bin Laden, Taliban Peace Talks, Taliban, Alqaeda, Osama Bin Laden, World News
Jake Diliberto

Recently, the Karzai-Taliban Peace talks has gained significant press coverage. Yet few stories tell anyone how the peace process occurs, and what i...

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Afghanistan, Year Ten

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Year 10, War in Afghanistan, White House, Mcchrystal, Pentagon, Mckiernon, Coin, Rethink Afghanistan, Petraeus, Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan War, Brave New Foundation, Afghanistan Year 10, World News
Derrick Crowe

We've been making progress for nine-plus years now, progress into the deadliest year for U.S. troops since the war began, progress into record levels of suicide terrorism directed at Americans. No more progress, please.

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The Afghanistan War's Tenth Year Must Be Its Last

Robert Greenwald | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan War, Troops, Petraeus, Coin, Rethink Afghanistan, War in Afghanistan, Mcchrystal, Escalation, Afghanistan, Obama, Amputation, Robert Greenwald, Counterinsurgency, Brave New Foundation, Troop Increase, World News
Robert Greenwald

Can anyone name a single way in which this war still serves the national interest, if it ever did? We talked to a group of veterans of the conflict, and their answer was a very clear, "no."

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Who's Really "Relying on Assumptions and Beliefs to Shape Reality" in Afghanistan War Debate?

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Joshua Foust, Improvised Explosive Devices, Anti-War, Rethink Afghanistan, Ieds, Coin, Matthew Hoh, Registan.net, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Study Group, Counterinsurgency, Andrew Exum, Brave New Foundation, World News
Derrick Crowe

The Afghanistan Study Group report is out, and the fight is on. A number of critiques have been leveled at the report, one of the most influential being Joshua Foust's over at Registan.net.

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Security in Afghanistan Crumbles as Counterinsurgency Fails

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Pashtuns, Hamid Karzai, Corruption, White House, Anti-War, Coin, Obama, Failure, Peace, Afghanistan War, Brave New Foundation, War in Afghanistan, Army, Military, Rethink Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Afghan National Army, Strategy Review, Kabul Bank, Counterinsurgency, Kabulbank, World News
Derrick Crowe

As President Obama's strategy review for Afghanistan commences, let's hope he's balancing the information coming to him from his happy-talking generals with some independent news reading of his own.

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Petraeus, Karzai Clash Over Afghan Village Miltias

Washington Post | Joshua Partlow and Karen DeYoung | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coin, Mcchrystal, Afghanistan, Kabul, Petraeus, Militias, Taliban, General Petraeus, Hamid Karzai, John McCain, Stanley McChrystal, Counterinsurgency, Villagers, World News

As he takes charge of the war effort in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus has met sharp resistance from President Hamid Karzai to an American plan t...

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$547 Million Can't Paper Over Failure of Afghanistan War

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Pentagon, Coin, Afghanistan War, David Gregory, Brave New Foundation, War in Afghanistan, Insurgency, Rethink Afghanistan, Department of Defense, Taliban, Petraeus, Insurgents, Afghanistan, Defense Department, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan Progress, World News
Derrick Crowe

No matter how much the Pentagon spins their message into the mainstream media, the facts on the ground show the U.S. lacks one of counterinsurgency's own premises for success: a legitimate host nation government.

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Enough Is Enough: War Chatter From the Oval Office

Jake Diliberto | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: George Bush, Obama Afghanistan, Iraq Surge, Obama-Speech-August-31, Veterans PTSD, Afghanistan Surge, Kabul, Wartime Sacrifice, Iran, Obama Afghanistan Troop Increase, Yale, Deficit, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jeff Taylor, McDonald's, Stanford University, Operation Enduring Freedom, Ptsd, President Bush, Vets for Freedom, Obama Iraq Speech, Coin, Iraqi Refugees, Hamid Karzai, War in Iraq, Barack Obama, Presidents, Afghanistan War, Harvard University, Counter-Insurgency, Troops Coffins, Rethink Afghanistan, Iraq, Counterinsurgency, Obama Iraq, Politics News
Jake Diliberto

2010 is the deadliest year thus far in Afghanistan. How much war chatter do Americans have to endure? When does the President call it "game over"?

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Afghanistan: Hearts and Minds and Blood and Anger

Josh Mull | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Cost of War, Troops, Anti-War, Longest War, Coin, Pakistan, Hearts and Minds, Protests, War, Violence, Peace, Spencer Ackerman, Ct-Plus, Riots, Soldiers, Nato, Rethink Afghanistan, Seamus O'Sullivan, Afghanistan, Bagram, Politics News
Josh Mull

I am the Afghanistan Blogging Fellow for The Seminal and Brave New Foundation. You can read my work on The Seminal or at Rethink Afghanistan. The view...

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Who's the Huckster for This High-Interest War?

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Petraeus, Coin, Lt. Gen. Bill Caldwell, Ana, Biden, Troop Increase, Rethink Afghanistan, Gen. James Conway, Afghan National Security Forces, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, July 2011, Counterinsurgency, Ansf, Obama Afghanistan, July 2011 Afghanistan, Obama West Point Speech, World News
Derrick Crowe

On Afghanistan, either the general or the president (or both) is a huckster for this high-interest war. We'll know from the White House's response to this military media blitz just who the huckster really is.

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