“We have now cleared and held a great deal of insurgent-held territory that the insurgents have never lost in.”
— Col. Art Kandarian, a brigade commander with the 101st Airborne Division
So . . . let me get this straight. The new metric for success in a COIN environment is to clear and hold ground?
Gosh, what’s next? Strategic hamlets? The Maginot Line? Pikes and crossbows?
And this is what secdef describes as progress that has exceeded his expectations?
A friend of mine has a T shirt I love. It says
Southeast Asia War Games
1959 – 1975
SECOND PLACE
Drop ‘east’, change the date, and you have a franchise.
Anybody got a screen printer I can borrow?