The Limits of the Surge: An Interview with Gian Gentile - Judah Grunstein, World Politics Review.

Gian P. Gentile is an active duty Army lieutenant colonel who has served two tours in Iraq, most recently as a combat battalion commander in west Baghdad in 2006. Last month, his World Politics Review article, "Misreading the Surge," brought a fierce internal debate over the Army's new emphasis on counterinsurgency operations and its potential impact on conventional capabilities to the attention of the general public. In the context of this week's congressional hearings on the Surge, WPR asked Gentile for a follow up email interview, to which he graciously agreed...

Much of this debate has played out on our pages and at Abu Muqawama...

Gian Gentile and Abu Muqawama have had a few conversations over e-mail about his skepticism toward counter-insurgency theory and whether or not it can be applied successfully on the battlefield. As you might have guessed, there's an obvious difference of opinion. But Abu Muqawama thinks Gentile, at the least, keeps the counter-insurgency community from falling into group think by challenging shared assumptions and asking critical questions. "Everyone has a role to play," reads the famous Belfast mural of failed insurgent Bobby Sands. Indeed...