Though modern British COIN doctrine has shaken off some of British COIN’s persistent myths, a more thorough and far-sighted questioning of its base principles is needed.
Each approach has its own inherent limitations. The human terrain approach was a ‘quick-fix’. But maybe the US Air Force’s model of cross-cultural competence offers more promise.
An effort is now under way to draft a joint COIN doctrine informed by an air-minded perspective to reflect the range, speed, and capabilities of aerospace forces.
States still matter, power still triumphs, and competition still thrives. These will be the determining factors for the future of Sino-U.S. relations. Realists believe that if China can maintain its domestic economic growth and international financial strength, then a significant security competition with America is inevitable.
The Air Force was for a long time the guiding star of US military doctrine, but it seems to be fading fast of late. Air power did not win the Second World War, but the USAF did, gaining its independence from the Army, a large share of the defense budget, and prominence in the Cold War with the promise of easy victory
The American military at the end of the Cold War was a formidable force, large in size, very well equipped, and quite capable of meeting any conceivable Soviet warfare challenge, nuclear or conventional. Its recovery from Vietnam was total. Thoughts of honing its fast fading counter-insurgency skills or of a search to discover how best to participate in peace-keeping and nation-building ventures were far from its doctrinal priorities.
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