Bollixed Up

We seem not to realize the central fact
that each one of us is responsible
for what is going on in the world,
the terror, violence, wars.
--J. Krishnamurti
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A 4/16 Wall Street Journal Op Ed lumped Counterinsurgency [COIN] and Counterterrorism [CT] into the same bundle. The writer used the terms interchangeably; unfortunately, they are they are anything but.

The writer said winning hearts and minds was a goal of CT. This is far from the truth.

Hearts and Minds is a bogus COIN construction that has no application in CT. The stated goal of COIN is to win the hearts and minds of the population, thereby denying recruitment and support from flowing from the people to the terrorists. (Really, we'll kill insurgents, nationalist movement members, guerrillas and anyone else in the line of fire.)

In contrast, the goal of CT is to destroy and obliterate terrorists. In the confused Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©), this mission is also applied to insurgents, militants, guerrillas and anti-government forces.

Since it is difficult to ascertain the actual CT mission today, the violence of suppressing these groups spreads to the population in general, which negatively impacts upon the more positive expressed intents of COIN.

COIN and CT are neither complementary nor equivalent concepts, and are in fact contradictory programs.

In any event, CT and COIN are both faulty bills of goods.