Today in the hard-copy Wall Street Journal there is an excellent article by Greg Jaffe about the change/modification/evolution in war doctrine that is coming about lately. A number of writers have drawn very different "lessons learned" from Vietnam than the doctrine that was adopted by the military in the '80's. John Nagl is one of those that Jaffe mentions, and Nagl draws on the lessons the British military learned fighting the Malay insurgents during the 1050's. Nagl's writing and that of others is having an impact and now the top command structure is changing it's doctrine to more effectively fight the insurgents in Iraq. The article isn't available online yet, but I'll include a link when it is. Jaffe's article is well worth the read as is the books that he recommends, including Nagle's.
Being a student of history and political science, it has been very interesting for me to see how the U.S. handles Iraq and Afghanistan. We currently have political leaders with the will to endure in the struggle, and the military strategists have quickly responded to changing conditions in Iraq to come up with new tactics and strategies to win the struggle. Nation building isn't easy, but with the will and determination, I think the U.S. will prevail and help Iraq become an effective democracy able to defend itself from it's external and internal enemies.
Flexibility, manueverability, quickness were part of the strategy and tactics that Gen. Tommy Franks and Centcom used to bring a quick defeat to the conventional Baathist forces, but now the challenges of building a democratic nation, training up a new army while fighting off internal terrorists requires different tactics and doctrine. Flexibility is still a requirement, but we also have to bring stability to Iraq while it learns to govern and defend itself. This means holding and defending ground as well as winning hearts and minds of the people.
Having some relatives, friends, and acquaintances in special ops units (Seals, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Force Reconnaissance, etc.), it has been interesting to see how these small, highly trained units can be used for a multitude of missions. From chasing Taliban and Al Quaida in mountain caves to training the new Iraqi army. Robert Kaplan in his "Imperial Grunts" talks about this. I haven't read the book yet, but I think I will soon, along with John Nagle's.
One of the interesting things that's been happening with the development of a professional and all-volunteer military, is that it's attracting men and women who not only have a patriotic calling to serve, but also highly intelligent and thoughtful people who are bringing their intellectual talents and insights to bear on developing tactics and strategy doctrine that meets the challenges that our military faces these days. And these aren't "Ivory Tower" thinkers either, like John Nagle, they are actually serving as "boots on the ground" and putting their ideas into practice and refining them in the laboratory of reality. And they all seem to have a firm and deep committment to the idea of Freedom and Democracy, and most of all to God and Country.
