Topic “comprehensive approach”
And she puts our blog on her syllabus!
February 18, 2009 | Posted by Abu Muqawama - 11:57pm | 13 Comments
Oh, what does Janine Davidson know about stability operations and civilian-military partnerships? ... Eh, what's that? Lots, you say? Oh...
One Wheel, Three (or more) Objects, *LOTS* of Hearts
August 25, 2008 | Posted by Carlos - 2:05pm | 2 Comments
If you click on my profile, you'll notice "juggling" among the more usual interests of someone who would contribute to a COIN blog (Like...shoes. Um, moving on....). Carlos has a respectable 5-ball juggle and knows a bunch of tricks. I maintained what little sanity through grad school that way (recognizing the diminishing returns, if I had got to 7, I'd probably never have finished the dissertation).
The juggling community is small, most folks only 2-3 degrees of separation apart. On one of the forums, there had been a thread on advice for teaching kids to juggle without use of language. The reason? The questioner was heading to Afghanistan to work with the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus. Obviously, I think this is a wonderful program, and I bring it to your attention on the wonders of laughter even in the toughest of societies. I also bring bring it up to ask those who've been there if they've seen the AMMC and their work, and if they have any impressions of what they're doing.
Some cool pictures can be found here. And a profile of Zach Warren, one of the AMMC's juggling teachers and performers, as well as Harvard Divinity Student, can be found here. Zach raises money for the AMMC not only by unicycling, but also by marathon "joggling," where one runs an entire marathon while juggling three (sometimes more) objects. (In 2006, Zach broke the world record, with a sub three-hour run most folks would be proud of *without* juggling, and bested his joggling rival in the race. Zach's rival, Michael Kapral, took the record back, as Zach noted on his website. Zach also holds the current record for fastest mile riding a unicycle (3min 26 sec, 17.45 miles an hour).
I've become increasingly interested in the role of reconciliation in postconflict environments, and it strikes me that these kinds of programs could have an even deeper impact than many would suggest. Too frequently, we talk about "hearts and minds" as if the words and objects run together. Well, that's crap. How often have we done things where the mind knows better, but the heart is what we follow. (Um. Or other parts. Let's move on). "Hearts and minds" is wonderful in combination, but Hearts OR Minds might not be bad places to start. Especially with the youth.
The juggling community is small, most folks only 2-3 degrees of separation apart. On one of the forums, there had been a thread on advice for teaching kids to juggle without use of language. The reason? The questioner was heading to Afghanistan to work with the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus. Obviously, I think this is a wonderful program, and I bring it to your attention on the wonders of laughter even in the toughest of societies. I also bring bring it up to ask those who've been there if they've seen the AMMC and their work, and if they have any impressions of what they're doing.
Some cool pictures can be found here. And a profile of Zach Warren, one of the AMMC's juggling teachers and performers, as well as Harvard Divinity Student, can be found here. Zach raises money for the AMMC not only by unicycling, but also by marathon "joggling," where one runs an entire marathon while juggling three (sometimes more) objects. (In 2006, Zach broke the world record, with a sub three-hour run most folks would be proud of *without* juggling, and bested his joggling rival in the race. Zach's rival, Michael Kapral, took the record back, as Zach noted on his website. Zach also holds the current record for fastest mile riding a unicycle (3min 26 sec, 17.45 miles an hour).
I've become increasingly interested in the role of reconciliation in postconflict environments, and it strikes me that these kinds of programs could have an even deeper impact than many would suggest. Too frequently, we talk about "hearts and minds" as if the words and objects run together. Well, that's crap. How often have we done things where the mind knows better, but the heart is what we follow. (Um. Or other parts. Let's move on). "Hearts and minds" is wonderful in combination, but Hearts OR Minds might not be bad places to start. Especially with the youth.
Best Practices in the Comprehensive Approach to War Among the People
July 17, 2008 | Posted by Kip - 6:16am | 30 Comments
The Europeans don't like the term counterinsurgency. For the French, it is associated with torture in Algeria. For others, it is a question of definition. Any effort against an insurgency is inherently a counter-insurgency, so does the term denote any effort against an insurgency (as it would seem on its face) or is it a set of principles and a way of doing business as US doctrine seems to suggest.
They therefore utilize the term "Comprehensive Approach" to denote the set of practices across the political, military, economic, social, and information spheres required to defeat an entrenched insurgent enemy.
Recently, some Pakistani forces in Mohmand tribal district have began to implement such a comprehensive approach, probably developing a set of best practices that are worth serious study.
A intra-tribal dispute among the Safi tribe (who cross into Kunar near where the large attack on American forces took place earlier this week) had led to under-development and violence in the region as elements of the Masaud and Gurbaz sub-tribes were fighting over the ability to export valuable Pakistani marble from the district into Pakistan. The government couldn't reach into the area, and lawlessness was rampant.
These Pakistani forces implemented a dispute settlement mechanism, opened up the marble trade, taxed the income from the mines, and drafted men to serve in the forces and enforce the settlement (which involved awarding different mountains to different sub-tribes and parceling up those mountains by family and village).
It has been a brilliant operation that may provide a template for dealing with these types of disputes in Afghanistan, for instance in Kunar and Nuristan where disputes over the lumber trade, gemstones, and water result in violence and insurgency.
It is unfortunate then that the Pakistani forces who have led this brilliant operation marshal under the white banner and black turbans of the Pakistani Taliban.
(To read more, see the NY Times article here. Thanks to the anonymous officer who provided this interpretation of the article for me to work with.)
They therefore utilize the term "Comprehensive Approach" to denote the set of practices across the political, military, economic, social, and information spheres required to defeat an entrenched insurgent enemy.
Recently, some Pakistani forces in Mohmand tribal district have began to implement such a comprehensive approach, probably developing a set of best practices that are worth serious study.
A intra-tribal dispute among the Safi tribe (who cross into Kunar near where the large attack on American forces took place earlier this week) had led to under-development and violence in the region as elements of the Masaud and Gurbaz sub-tribes were fighting over the ability to export valuable Pakistani marble from the district into Pakistan. The government couldn't reach into the area, and lawlessness was rampant.
These Pakistani forces implemented a dispute settlement mechanism, opened up the marble trade, taxed the income from the mines, and drafted men to serve in the forces and enforce the settlement (which involved awarding different mountains to different sub-tribes and parceling up those mountains by family and village).
It has been a brilliant operation that may provide a template for dealing with these types of disputes in Afghanistan, for instance in Kunar and Nuristan where disputes over the lumber trade, gemstones, and water result in violence and insurgency.
It is unfortunate then that the Pakistani forces who have led this brilliant operation marshal under the white banner and black turbans of the Pakistani Taliban.
(To read more, see the NY Times article here. Thanks to the anonymous officer who provided this interpretation of the article for me to work with.)
