Is Our Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Approach Irrelevant?
Is Our Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Approach Irrelevant?
by Colonel Lawrence Sellin
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“You know you never defeated us on the battlefield”, said the American colonel.
His adversary pondered this remark a moment. “That may be so,” he replied, “but it is also irrelevant.”
That conversation occurred on 25 April 1975 in Hanoi between Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr., then Chief, Negotiations Division, U.S. Delegation, Four Party Joint Military Team and Colonel Tu, Chief of the North Vietnamese Delegation.
Colonel Summers is now best known as the author of a powerful critique of the Vietnam War titled, On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War. It analyzed the reasons behind the US tactical victory, but strategic defeat in that conflict.
Download the Full Article: Is Our Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Approach Irrelevant?
Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a recently retired colonel with 29 years of service in the US Army Reserve. He is a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq.
