Location
Stewart Center 302
Session Number
Keynote Address
Start Date
September 2011
End Date
September 2011
Abstract
My essay examines the disconnect between theory and practice in the American response to terrorism, primarily by comparing the policies advocated in the revised U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (2006) with actual military practice in Afghanistan and Iraq. I refer to the official policies as "fictions" because they cannot be put into practice in any meaningful way: they create the illusion that military initiatives can effectively combat terrorism when their usual result is to breed more terrorism.
Fictions of Counterinsurgency
Stewart Center 302
My essay examines the disconnect between theory and practice in the American response to terrorism, primarily by comparing the policies advocated in the revised U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (2006) with actual military practice in Afghanistan and Iraq. I refer to the official policies as "fictions" because they cannot be put into practice in any meaningful way: they create the illusion that military initiatives can effectively combat terrorism when their usual result is to breed more terrorism.