Jamal Awil

← Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire

Counterinsurgency demands soldiers serve as nation builders, not just warriors. [definitional]

A counterinsurgency campaign is, as described in this manual, a mix of offensive, defensive, and stability operations conducted along multiple lines of operations. It requires Soldiers and Marines to employ a mix of familiar combat tasks and skills more often associated with nonmilitary agencies. The balance between them depends on the local situation. Achieving this balance is not easy. It requires leaders at all levels to adjust their approach constantly. They must ensure that their Soldiers and Marines are ready to be greeted with either a handshake or a hand grenade. . . . Soldiers and Marines are expected to be nation builders as well as warriors. They must be prepared to help reestablish institutions and local security forces and assist in rebuilding infrastructure and basic services. They must be able to facilitate establishing local governance and the rule of law. The list of such tasks is long; performing them involves extensive coordination and cooperation with many intergovernmental, host-nation, and international agencies. [emphasis added]

XREF: Connects to broader counterinsurgency doctrine discussions from the Vietnam and Iraq eras; echoes the 'graduate-level war' concept often attributed to COIN theorists.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 423