July 25, 2009

Abu Muqawama, back from Afghanistan

By: AF Editors

Counterinsurgency blogger Andrew Exum, aka Abu Muqawama, is back from Afghanistan. Andrew explains:

I was asked by General McChrystal to be part of a small team of scholars and practitioners helping to conduct his 60-day review of strategy and operations in Afghanistan. So I have spent the past month traveling around Afghanistan conducting interviews and trying to evaluate ISAF’s operations. 

The three main points Andrew took away from his visit are:

  1. Winning will be extremely hard.
  2. Gen. McChrystal has a great staff.
  3. Gen. McChrystal understands that counterinsurgency is about protecting the population.
What I’d be curious to know is whether Andrew thinks there’s much hope for the different NATO contingents working together effectively, or whether America will have to do the all the heavy lifting.