Options for Avoiding Counterinsurgencies

Abstract

How can the West continue to shape international order without over-committing itself to ruinous and ambiguous opera- tions on the scale of Iraq and Afghanistan? This article addresses this question by examining the failures of counterinsurgency in Af- ghanistan, and by outlining three alternatives for future engagements: the Libya model, the indirect approach, and contingency operations in support of multilateral organizations. Each presents unique possibilities, but the imperative for strategic clarity and com- mitment is consistent.