Download or read book Thwarting Afghanistan s Insurgency written by Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The analysis and conclusions drawn in this report are based on the author?s wide range of discussions with ordinary Afghans (men and women), senior government officials, and members of the international community working in or on Afghanistan. Over the course of years, the author has traveled to many places inside Afghanistan and participated in numerous meetings and conferences centered on peace, stability, and reconstruction."--Publisher description.
Download or read book Thwarting Afghanistan s Insurgency A Pragmatic Approach Toward Peace and Reconciliation written by Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan written by Seth G. Jones and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study explores the nature of the insurgency in Afghanistan, the key challenges and successes of the U.S.-led counterinsurgency campaign, and the capabilities necessary to wage effective counterinsurgency operations. By examining the key lessons from all insurgencies since World War II, it finds that most policymakers repeatedly underestimate the importance of indigenous actors to counterinsurgency efforts. The U.S. should focus its resources on helping improve the capacity of the indigenous government and indigenous security forces to wage counterinsurgency. It has not always done this well. The U.S. military-along with U.S. civilian agencies and other coalition partners-is more likely to be successful in counterinsurgency warfare the more capable and legitimate the indigenous security forces (especially the police), the better the governance capacity of the local state, and the less external support that insurgents receive.
Download or read book What Went Wrong in Afghanistan written by Metin Gurcan and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2016-08-19 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 20 December 2001 - the date which marked the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to assist the Afghan Government - hundreds of thousands of coalition soldiers from around 50 different states have physically been and served in Afghanistan. Roughly 20 rotation periods have been experienced; billions of US dollars have been spent; and almost 3,500 coalition soldiers and 7,400 Afghani security personnel have fallen for Afghanistan. In this badly-managed success story, the true determiner of both tactical outcomes on the ground and strategic results was always the tribal and rural parts of Muslim-populated Afghanistan. Although there has emerged a vast literature on counterinsurgency theories and tactics, we still lack reliable information about the motivations and aspirations of the residents of Tribalised Rural Muslim Environments (TRMEs) that make up most of Afghanistan. The aim of this book is to describe some on-the-ground problems of counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts in TRMEs - specifically in rural Afghanistan - and then to propose how these efforts might be improved. Along the way, it will be necessary to challenge many current assumptions about the conduct of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Most generally, the book will show how counterinsurgency succeeds or fails at the local level (at the level of tactical decisions by small-unit leaders) and that these decisions cannot be successful without understanding the culture and perspective of those who live in TRMEs. Although engaging issues of culture, the author is not an anthropologist or an academic of any kind. He is a Muslim who spent his childhood in a TRME - a remote village in Turkey - and he offers his observations on the basis of 15 years' worth of field experience as a Turkish Special Forces officer serving in rural Iraq, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Cultures in these areas are not the same, but there are sufficient similarities to suggest some overall characteristics of TRMEs and some general problems of COIN efforts in these environments. In summary, this book not only challenges some of the fundamentals of traditional counterinsurgency wisdom and emphasizes the importance of the tactical level - a rarely-studied field from the COIN perspective - but also blends the firsthand field experiences of the author with deep analyses. In this sense, it is not solely an autobiography, but something much more.
Download or read book Unity of Effort written by Christopher Jon Lamb and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study ascribes the lack of progress in Afghanistan more to forces and donors working at cross-purposes than to insufficient resources. The authors call for an indirect approach that emphasizes working through indigenous forces. They cite U.S. special operations forces (SOF) failure to support counterinsurgency objectives as an example of military units working at cross-purposes. The authors recommend three ways to improve unity of effort: all Operation ¿Enduring Freedom¿ forces (except SOF) should be merged into one common mission with international forces; decisionmaking authority between U.S. military and civilian leaders should be clarified; and SOF operations must focus on the indirect approach. Illustrations.
Download or read book In the Warlords Shadow written by Daniel R Green and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2017-07-15 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2010, U.S. special operations forces (SOF) in Afghanistan began a new and innovative program to fight the Taliban insurgency using the movement's structure and strategy against it. The Village Stability Operations/Afghan Local Police initiative consisted of U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEAL teams embedding with villagers to fight the Taliban holistically. By enlisting Afghans in their own defense, organizing the local populace, and addressing their grievances with the Afghan government, SOF was able to defeat the Taliban’s military as well as its political arm. Combining the traditions of U.S. Army Special Forces with the lessons learned in the broader SOF community from years of counterinsurgency work in Iraq and Afghanistan, this new approach fundamentally changed the terms of the conflict with the Taliban. However, little has been written about this initiative outside of the special operations community until now. In this first-hand account of how the Village Stability Operations program functioned, Daniel R. Green provides a long-term perspective on how SOF stabilized the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, the site of the Pashtun uprising against the Taliban in 2001 led by Hamid Karzai, future president of Afghanistan. In the Warlords’ Shadow offers a comprehensive overview of how SOF adapted to the unique demands of the local insurgency and is a rare, inside look at how special operations confronted the Taliban by fighting a “better war” and in so doing fundamentally changed the course of the war in Afghanistan.
Download or read book The Valley s Edge written by Daniel R. Green and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2012 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this gripping, firsthand account, Daniel Green tells the story of U.S. efforts to oust the Taliban insurgency from the desolate southern Afghan province of Uruzgan. Nestled between the Hindu Kush mountains and the sprawling wasteland of the Margow and Khash Deserts, Uruzgan is a microcosm of U.S. efforts to prevent Afghanistan from falling to the Taliban insurgency and Islamic radicalism. Green, who served in Uruzgan from 2005 to 2006 as a U.S. Department of State political adviser to a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), reveals how unrealistic expectations, a superficial understanding of the Afghans, and a lack of resources contributed to the Taliban's resurgence in the area. He discusses the PRT's good-governance efforts, its reconstruction and development projects, the violence of the insurgency, and the PRT's attempts to manage its complex relationship with the local warlord cum governor of the province. Upon returning to Afghanistan in 2009 with the U.S. military and while working at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul until 2010, Green discovered that although many improvements had been made since he had last served in the country, the problems he had experienced in Uruzgan continued despite the transition from the Bush administration to the Obama administration.
Download or read book The Afghan Taliban Evolution of an Adaptive Insurgency written by Naval Postgraduate Naval Postgraduate School and published by . This book was released on 2019-08-23 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout their twenty-five-year insurgency, the Afghan Taliban have evolved from a small group of madrasa students, mujahedeen fighters, and tribal Afghans into one of the most innovative and adaptive insurgencies in modern history. As a result, the U.S.-declared War on Terror in Afghanistan has persisted for eighteen years as the Afghan Taliban continue to threaten regional security and stability. In 2019, renewed Taliban peace talks with the U.S. may be an indicator for optimism, but the historical patterns in Taliban strategy and ideology demand caution. The U.S. government has repeatedly underestimated the sophistication, innovation, and resiliency of the Taliban. This thesis examines how the Afghan Taliban's strategies and ideologies have evolved since 1994 when the group became an explicit political and military entity. Broken into distinct time periods, this thesis chronologically investigates the history of the insurgency using the following lenses: Afghan identity, the spread of transnational terrorism, tactical innovation, and political ingenuity. Outdated and over-generalized counterinsurgency doctrine led to millions of American deaths in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Success of future doctrine requires applied awareness of cultural complexities and adversarial behaviors. Agility, speed, and responsiveness must become major tenets of counterinsurgency planning moving forward.
Download or read book Understanding an Insurgency Achieving the United States Strategic Objectives in Afghanistan written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problems in Afghanistan are not simple and there is no single solution. Indeed, the problems in Afghanistan are not limited to Afghanistan. Instead, the problems extend to all of Afghanistan' immediate neighbors as well as, among others, the United States, NATO, Russia, Iran, and India. However, perhaps nowhere is the problem more pronounced than in Pakistan. Pakistan' relationships with Afghanistan and the rest of the world are heavily influenced by Pakistan's fears that it is isolated against an existential threat in India and its distrust of the United States. This fear has led Pakistan to pursue policies that have further complicated the situation in Afghanistan and created domestic turmoil that causes Pakistan to view the Taliban and its border region with Afghanistan from a different perspective than the United States. Given the specific context of Afghanistan, the United States and its allies must utilize both direct and indirect approaches and capitalize on their diplomatic, information operations, military, and economic resources in order to achieve its strategic objectives in the region. With respect to diplomacy, the United States must engage with Pakistan and the other nations in the region in order to assuage Pakistani fears of isolation at the hands of India and its distrust of the United States. The information instrument should be directed at the citizens and governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban and al Qaeda, the citizens and governments of the other Central Asian nations, and major regional players such as the European Union (EU), NATO, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, and Russia. These messages should focus on delegitimizing al Qaeda's ideology and actions; separating the Taliban, which is a regional insurgency, from al Qaeda, which is a global insurgency; espousing a U.S. position that is oriented on a long-term commitment to.
Download or read book From Stalemate to Settlement written by Colin P. Clarke and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical insurgencies that ended in settlement after a stalemate have generally followed a seven-step path. A "master narrative" distilled from these cases could help guide and assess the progress toward a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.
Download or read book The Taliban Insurgency in Pakistan and Afghanistan written by Mūsá K̲h̲ān Jalālzaʼī and published by Sang-E-Meel Publication. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Ground in Afghanistan written by Gerald Meyerle and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a glimpse into what relatively small military units -- teams, platoons, companies, and highly dispersed battalions -- have done to roll back the insurgency in some of the more remote areas of Afghanistan. The book includes 15 vignettes about different units from the U.S. Marines, Army, and Army Special Forces; the British Army and Marines; the Dutch Army and Marines; and the Canadian Army. The case studies cover 10 provinces in Afghanistan's south and east. They describe the diverse conditions the units faced in these provinces, how they responded to these conditions, what worked and what did not, and the successes they achieved. Key themes include: dealing with a localized insurgency; navigating the political terrain; searching for political solutions;l engaging the population and building popular support; and, using reconstruction funds.
Download or read book Insurgency in Afghanistan in the Regional Strategic Context written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overview: * Origins of this project * Pakistan * Conditions in Pakistan * Talibanization * Balochistan * Pakistan and Afghanistan * Opposing the militants * Conclusions.
Download or read book Hearts Minds and Hydras written by William R. Nester and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2012 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the publisher. Insurgencies are like the hydra, the many-headed beast of Greek mythology. Once one begins, the measures a government takes to eliminate militants -- to cut off the insurgency's head -- can provoke countless others to join the enemy ranks. Tactical victories often breed strategic defeats. Traditional "search, destroy, and withdraw" missions that rely on firepower to wipe out rebels frequently destroy the livelihoods and loved ones of innocent people caught in the cross fire. U.S. troops have seen the pattern repeated as their initially successful offensives toppled enemy regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq but soon transformed into grueling guerrilla wars. Hearts, Minds, and Hydras outlines the reasons for these worsening situations. The most crucial were self-defeating decisions made by the George W. Bush administration, whose neoconservatism and hubris rather than careful analysis of genuine threats, national interests, and reasonable options shaped its policies. Although the Americans were eventually able to contain and diminish the insurgency in Iraq, the one in Afghanistan not only steadily intensified but also spread into neighboring Pakistan. The near abandonment of the war in Afghanistan and the neoconservative campaign in Iraq were godsends for al Qaeda and all other enemies of the United States. Then, as America's position deteriorated in both wars, the neoconservatives became even more determined to stay the course. William Nester analyzes some of the more prominent dilemmas haunting American policymakers now struggling to win in Afghanistan, fight terrorism in the United States, and reshape their relationship with Pakistan. In doing so, he reveals the nature of that all-too-real monster of insurgency, what feeds it, and how to starve it.
Download or read book The Taliban written by Mark Silinsky and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-04-17 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understand the complexities of the most lethal insurgent group of America's longest war—the Taliban. Battle hardened, tribally oriented, and deeply committed to its cause, the Taliban has proven itself resourceful, adaptable, and often successful. As such, the Taliban presents a counterinsurgency puzzle for which the United States has yet to identify effective military tactics, information operations, and Coalition developmental policies. Written by one of the Department of the Army's leading intelligence and military analysts on the Taliban, this book covers the group's complete history, including its formation, ideology, and political power, as well as the origins of its current conflict with the United States. The work carefully analyzes the agenda, capabilities, and support base of the Taliban; forecasts the group's likely course of action to retake Afghanistan; and details the Coalition forces' probable counterinsurgency responses. Author Mark Silinsky also reviews the successes and failures of the latest U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine to extrapolate the best strategies for future counterinsurgency campaigns.
Download or read book Koran Kalashnikov and Laptop written by Antonio Giustozzi and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the Allied invasion of Afghanistan in 2002, the Bush administration has celebrated the imminent demise of the Taliban, with claims of a moral and psychological defeat playing a prominent role in the presidential elections of 2004. Some commentators suggested that reconstruction and development had won over the Afghan population, despite widespread criticism of the meager distribution of aid and failed attempts at nation building, not to mention the infamous corruption of Kabul's power-hoarding elites. In March 2006, both Afghan and American officials continued to assert that the Taliban are no longer able to fight large battles. Unfortunately that theory would soon collapse beneath the weight of a series of particularly ferocious clashes, causing the mood in the American media to turn from one of optimism to one of defeatism and impending catastrophe. Suddenly faced with a very sophisticated and creative form of guerilla warfare, the West found itself at a loss to fight an insurgency that bore little resemblance to its former enemy.In the first book ever to be published on the neo-Taliban, Antonio Giustozzi provocatively argues that the appearance of the neo-Taliban should in no way have been a surprise. Beginning in 2003, a growing body of evidence began to surface that cast doubt on the official interpretation of the conflict. With the West cutting corners to maintain peace within the country, which included tolerating Afghanistan's burgeoning opium trade, the Taliban was able to regroup and grow in strength, weapons, and recruits. Giustozzi's book poses a bold challenge to contemporary accounts of the invasion and its aftermath and is an important investigation into the rise and dangerous future of the neo-Taliban.
Download or read book Afghanistan Arms and Conflict written by Michael V. Bhatia and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
