For the COINhatas (and you know who you are)
It would be a mistake to read my series of posts on the Wanat battle solely through the prism of "COIN: good or bad?" Yes, I do think that there is some evidence that the battalion was trying to use some principles of counterinsurgency, but there also is evidence that they were doing so incompletely, ...
It would be a mistake to read my series of posts on the Wanat battle solely through the prism of "COIN: good or bad?" Yes, I do think that there is some evidence that the battalion was trying to use some principles of counterinsurgency, but there also is evidence that they were doing so incompletely, or even haphazardly. Just because the Army told Sen. Inouye that the unit was doing COIN doesn't mean it was doing it will.
It would be a mistake to read my series of posts on the Wanat battle solely through the prism of "COIN: good or bad?" Yes, I do think that there is some evidence that the battalion was trying to use some principles of counterinsurgency, but there also is evidence that they were doing so incompletely, or even haphazardly. Just because the Army told Sen. Inouye that the unit was doing COIN doesn’t mean it was doing it will.
But most of my questions were outside the realm of COIN doctrine. Whatever the mission was, did they have enough people and resources to do it? Is this incident emblematic of the undersupported war in eastern Afghanistan?
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.