Posted on Jul 2, 2020
Forgetting Counterinsurgency, Again: Lessons from Reconstruction and Operation Iraqi Freedom -...
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WOW! The current national issue revolving around Confederate monuments relates directly to Reconstruction, as addressed in this paper. I remember studying this in college, but did not know the weak effort the Union army exercised. Was there civilian assistance to the Confederacy to establish Federal government or was this left totally to the Army of the US? WOW, explains a lot that is related to the entire Civil Rights movement of the last century. The whole Iraq issue is instructive...we are not equipped to “occupy” as in Post WW2 Japan. Perhaps a special force that is designed to not only suppress the enemy but also create the situations where a new political order can be created by the Army. I am afraid we are not prepared to do the work for this, and as a result should not enter into future wars as a nation.
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LTC Eric Udouj
Actually we were set up for occupation - but our senior leadership did not use what they had - and created something else.. that did no work. We have Civil Affairs CACOMs that are supposed to do the government of occupation aspect - and the BDEs and BNs all form portions of it. When we look back at out mistakes - and not putting that force into operation and ended up with a combat command.. there is a lot to learn.
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