McMaster among them - who went 'back to the future' to team with academics to study.

Kaplan profiles a group of officers - David Petraeus and H.R. Army in particular, adapted to the counterinsurgency threat in Iraq. The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War Fred Kaplan 4.49 - 16.46 1959: The Year Everything Changed Fred Kaplan 4.

Follow Slate and the Slate Foreign Desk on Twitter.Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 18:47:42.681002 Bookplateleaf 0003 Boxid IA1125001 Boxid_2 CH1151522 City New York DonorĪllen_county Edition 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed. Fred Kaplan's 'The Insurgents' is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how the U.S. ( Return to the corrected sentence.)īecome a fan of Slate on Facebook. 23, 2010: The original article mistakenly reported that there were 64 blimps over Afghanistan now. This remains highly uncertain in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan-and, in both countries, will depend on developments and decisions beyond the control of Obama, Petraeus, or any other outsider.Ĭorrection, Oct. When he recently said that the strategy was on course and that he anticipates no major changes as a result of the official review this December, he may have had in mind this momentum of the last few months.Īs Petraeus did in Iraq, more quickly and to a greater degree than even his supporters expected, he seems to be creating the conditions under which key factions might hammer out a political settlement.īut the big strategic question is whether these factions-including, not least, the government’s leaders-have the desire, wherewithal, or ideological flexibility for a settlement. President Barack Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan has been in effect only since the summer.

So are we turning the tide, gaining momentum, and-the ultimate goal of the military campaign-degrading the Taliban to the point at which their leaders are compelled to stop fighting and hold talks on reconciliation with Afghanistan’s constitutional government?

The Insurgents by Fred Kaplan