Governance, Identity, and Counterinsurgency

With the last departure of U.S. combat forces from
Iraq in 2011 and a drawdown in Afghanistan already
underway, the current era of American counterinsurgency
may be coming to a close. At the same time, irregular
threats to U.S. national interests remain, and
the future may hold yet more encounters with insurgents
for the U.S. military. Accordingly, the latest
Defense strategic guidance has called on the Department
of Defense (DoD) to "retain and continue to
reine the lessons learned, expertise, and specialized
capabilities" from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This monograph is a contribution to this ongoing
effort to institutionalize the military's understanding
of counterinsurgency, building on its hard-won recent
experience. Michael Fitzsimmons examines two case
studies drawn from some of the darkest months of
conlict in Iraq...