The World Desk

The World Desk

Michael Petrou writes about international news and Canadian foreign policy.

The British approach to counter-insurgency

by Michael Petrou on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 11:32am - 1 Comment

A British colonel studying at the U.S. Army War College has written about British counter-insurgency since 1945:

“Since 1945 the British armed forces have taken part in 72 military campaigns. Of these campaigns, 17 can be classified as counter-insurgency campaigns (including Afghanistan and Iraq). Breaking these 17 down even further, seven can claim to be successes, one is generally regarded as a draw, five are acknowledged failures, three are limited campaigns and difficult to quantify, and two are still in progress.”

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  • Emily

    The difference is, of course, that we are actually light years away from the middle of the last century and their 'glory days' …however the military doesn't seem to have caught on to that.

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