Center for a New American Security

Michael Cohen of the New America Foundation took up my challenge for people not named Gian Gentile to offer up criticisms of counter-insurgency. In two posts, here and here, Michael gives us much to think about. I think, though, that by picking fights with the people and ideas that he does, he ends up ignoring the great many of us who never want to fight another counter-insurgency campaign again but still think it's a damn good idea to have the doctrine and best practices handy. Michael seems to want to avoid all conflicts -- conventional and unconventional. And, well, sure. But as Trotsky didn't actually say, "you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." In the same way, as this blog has certainly said, military institutions cannot afford to just not study up on certain kinds of conflicts in the hopes that the teacher (or crazy policy-makers) will not put them on the final exam.

In the end, I think what Michael has an issue with here is American policy. Which is not the same as doctrine.