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Insurgency

In this Dec. 5, 2016, file photo, Syrian army soldiers fire their weapons during a battle with rebel fighters at the Ramouseh front line, east of Aleppo, Syria. 

Civil warcraft: Part II

Critical State

In this week’s Critical State, a weekly foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, Kelsey D. Atherton takes a deep dive into insurgency and counterinsurgency in urban warfare.

Afghan police arrive at the site of an attack at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.

​​​​​​​What does ‘legitimacy’ mean: Part II

Critical State
This aerial shot released by the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) shows a village affected by a landslide in Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. 

When it rains, it wars: Tracking intersecting security threats, Part II

Critical State
Militant Islamist fighters hold the flag of Islamic State (IS) while taking part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province in this June 30, 2014 file photo.

In Iraq, the battle against ISIS rages — in Syria there is little resistance

Conflict

Mass. community puts Afghan-style counter-insurgency tactics to use against gangs

Global Politics

Military’s Counter Insurgency Strategy — C3 Policing — a Success in Massachusett

Conflict & Justice

The business model of insurgents in Afghanistan and the business model of gangs in the inner city in the united states is the same. It’s the same business model and I know counter insurgency can work if properly applied.

Assessing America’s Counterinsurgency in Iraq

This month marks 10 years since the start of the American war in Iraq. In military operations alone, the war totaled over $800 billion and largely defined by America’s counterinsurgency efforts in the region. General David Petraeus, who led American military operations in Iraq, was the main proponent of the counterinsurgency tactics used in the […]

The World

In Afghanistan, ‘avoid civilian deaths’ both a strategic and moral imperative

Conflict & Justice

A new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that by sparing civilian lives in Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO forces will suffer fewer revenge attacks by insurgents.
Co-author of the study, Radha Iyengar explains.

The World

In counterinsurgency, does restraint deserve its own reward?

As avoiding the loss of civilian life is a cornerstone of the coalition’s counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan, does rewarding restraint makes sense? Is restraint a courageous act or does it put our troops in danger?

The World

Psychology of war

Conflict & Justice

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Steve Metz of the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania about the psychology of counter-insurgency and its applications in Afghanistan.