This NATO Defense College Forum paper explores the challenges that counterinsurgency operations pose for NATO from several different perspectives. The topic examined presents a strategic challenge for NATO, not only because the largest and longest duration combat operation in the history of the Alliance is ongoing and primarily consists of fighting insurgents in Afghanistan, but also because of the fissures that the International Security Assistance Force has exposed among NATO members. These differences include related questions on how to characterize and approach the violence in Afghanistan (COIN or stability and reconstruction?) and the relative military contributions by member states to the first and thus far only operation conducted by NATO under Article V (in addition the size of force contributions, caveats preclude some national troops from conducting full spectrum combat operations).
Chapters include an analysis of the US “Af-Pak” Strategy, NATO lessons from Afghanistan, balancing civilian and military efforts, measures of effectiveness, developing doctrine, a consideration of hybrid threats, and raising irregular local forces.
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