A Long-Term Counterinsurgency Strategy

Abstract

Nearly eight years later, former International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Commander, General Stanley McChrystal, issued a tactical directive seeking, among other things, to limit the use of Close Air Support (CAS) by NATO forces in Afghanistan.1 This action followed several high-profile incidences of collateral damage caused by air strikes in support of ISAF forces and signaled a broader shift in theater strategy toward a counterinsurgency (COIN) centric approach similar to that successfully employed in conjunction with the "surge" in Iraq. [...] it is worth noting that technological and procedural advances that contribute to the combat effectiveness of airpower (e.g., the precision revolution) often serve to mitigate the risk of collateral damage caused by airpower, contributing to the likelihood that future prospects for the strategic calculus will continue to improve.