Rebuilding Afghanistan: Counterinsurgency and Reconstruction in Operation Enduring Freedom
Abstract
International efforts to stabilize and reconstruct Afghanistan are confronted by a paradox in their strategy for Operation Enduring Freedom that has crippled their ability to locate and defeat the enemy and establish stability. In their narrowly focused pursuit of the search and destroy mission, coalition military forces have neglected the fundamental principle that guides small wars: the protection of the population and the elimination of the influence of the insurgent forces are paramount to gathering the necessary intelligence to locate the threat. This disregard for the population control has eliminated the coalition's primary source of intelligence, directly impinging on its ability to locate or separate the insurgent from the population and trapping it in an operational quagmire. Additionally, international aid efforts have focused on short-term relief rather than long-term reconstruction, establishing the foundation for continued dependence and instability rather than self-sufficiency. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the situation in Afghanistan as a form of insurgency using a modification of the systems approach as developed by Nathan Leites and Charles Wolf. Using this analysis, the author develops a framework for stabilization based on elements of successful counterinsurgency strategies taken from an examination of the situations in Vietnam, Malaya, and the Philippines. Chapter I highlights some of the major issues that impede U.S. efforts to achieve its objectives in Afghanistan. Chapter II contains the case studies of Malaya, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Chapter III highlights impediments to unification and stabilization in Afghanistan, namely, ethnic divides, warlords, opium production, central government, and insurgency. In Chapter IV, U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is analyzed in terms of the systems approach: input denial, counter-conversion, counterforce, and strengthening the State. (3 figures, 104 refs.)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA420361
Entities
People
- Bradley J. Armstrong
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School