Publication

This text assesses America´s so-called Long War, which began with the 9/11 attacks and now includes campaigns against the Islamic State and al Qaeda, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and numerous operations in other countries. Chapter 1 reviews the early, pre-surge military operations that occurred in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Chapter 2 continues the chronological thread but also delves into the assessments and adaptations that eventually led to the well-publicized military surges in both countries. Chapter 3 then examines the national-level decision making and implementation practices that shaped the facts-on-the-ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chapter 4 focuses its attention on security force assistance programs and how they’ve fared. Chapter 5 analyzes the complex legal issues that continue to bedevil irregular conflict. And finally, Chapter 6 provides the authors’ conclusions and seeming lessons learned.