Afghanistan and the Theories of Counterinsurgency

For various reasons (and many of you know the specifics), I have been interested in the application of what can only be termed the scholarship of counterinsurgency in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The classic works like T.E. Lawrence's The Arab Revolt and more modern books like John Nagl's Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife get close attention from those charged with turning the military tide in tough circumstances. These applications of history and theory to actual combat are sometimes successful and sometimes not, but I find the process very interesting. This week I read about how scholarship is being used to train leaders in counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. This article by Ganesh Sitaraman in the New York Times profiles the Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan. Take a read.