| ID | 086166 |
| Title Proper | Doctrine and reality in Afghanistan |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Roberts, Adam |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The limitations of military doctrines and practice are often exposed, not by arguments, but by events. Thus it was mainly events in Iraq and Afghanistan that exposed the inadequacies of the so-called 'revolution in military affairs' - an idea that was popular in the United States from the mid 1990s until at least 2003. Now, Afghanistan - and the situation in Pakistan with which it is inextricably linked - is proving to be a harsh test of the revived ideas of counter-insurgency.
Afghanistan was always likely to be a difficult theatre of operations for outside military forces. Seeing this (and perhaps also because he did not want an ongoing distraction from the future invasion of Iraq, for which he was already lobbying), then-US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said in November 2001:
In fact, one of the lessons of Afghanistan's history, which we've tried to apply in this campaign, is if you're a foreigner, try not to go in. If you go in, don't stay too long, because they don't tend to like any foreigners who stay too long. |
| `In' analytical Note | Survival : the IISS Quarterly Vol. 51, No. 1; Feb-Mar 2009: p.29-60 |
| Journal Source | Survival : the IISS Quarterly Vol. 51, No. 1; Feb-Mar 2009: p.29-60 |
| Key Words | Doctrine ; Afghanistan ; Military Doctrines ; Pakistan ; Counter-Insurgency ; United States ; Military Affairs |