Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Kayani: Oh yeah, we can do COIN

Pakistani army chief Kayani insists that his outfit can do that counterinsurgency thing just fine, contrary to what many foreign observers have asserted. “Any outside advice or subjective comments towards this end are counterproductive and divisive in effect, rather than being helpful,” he remarked.   In my experience, the more someone insists they can do ...

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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: A Pakistani Air Force F16 fighter jet pilot displays his skills during a full-dress rehearsal for the forthcoming National Day celebrations in Islamabad, 20 March 2005. With designs to display its military might, Pakistan is all set to celebrate its National Day on 23 March, the day which commemorates the anniversary of the 1940 resolution adopted in Lahore when the demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims from India was made. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani army chief Kayani insists that his outfit can do that counterinsurgency thing just fine, contrary to what many foreign observers have asserted. “Any outside advice or subjective comments towards this end are counterproductive and divisive in effect, rather than being helpful,” he remarked.  

In my experience, the more someone insists they can do counterinsurgency, the less likely that is to be the case. It kind of reminds me of what my old Washington Post colleague Anthony Shadid, a longtime vet of Iraq and the Middle East (and shot in the back once in the line of duty) said to me one day in Baghdad: “You know, the more I know about Iraq, the less I understand it.” The beginning of wisdom is a lot of humility, in COIN as in many other endeavors. 

General Kayani’s mindset is not a good indicator of trends in Pakistan. The first step toward recovery is recognizing you have a problem.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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