Don’t Hold Colombia Up as a COIN Model to Emulate
Don’t Hold Colombia Up as a COIN Model to Emulate by Michael Weintraub, Cicero Magazine
In a recent article in Foreign Policy, Admiral James Stavridis argues that the model of counterinsurgency implemented in Colombia over the past decade could and should be applied to restive countries in the Arab world. The piece cites encouraging statistics from Colombia, such as sharp declines in kidnappings and homicides, which serve as evidence of the program’s successes. “Today… there is enormous progress in Colombia,” he writes. “And it’s worth pausing, if not to celebrate these accomplishments quite yet, then at least to consider the lessons we might apply as we grapple with seemingly intractable problems across the Arab world.”
The achievements in homicide reduction and kidnapping in Colombia are real, and they are impressive. What Admiral Stavridis’ article ignores is the cost borne by civilian populations to achieve those goals…
