Winning the Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 643 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 2

Winning the Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan

It has been a common belief among military strategists ever since the time of Clausewitz in the early 19th century that gaining the support of the people is necessary for the success of any military endeavor. (Clausewitz 1873) Modern strategists call this idea "winning the hearts and minds of the people," and generally perform this mission by providing aid to the local people in an effort to win approval for the presence of military troops to conduct counterinsurgency (COIN) operations. However, the recent military conflict in Afghanistan has called into question the validity of this assumption.

One common assertion among military strategists is that there three elements in conflicts: the people, the military, and the government. In order to gain the support for the military to conduct operations the government must gain the support of the people. Without winning the hearts and minds of the people, no government's military operations, particularly counterinsurgency ones, can be successful.

Stuck Writing Your "Winning the Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan" Essay?

View All Our Example Winning the Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

In the current conflict in Afghanistan the United States has attempted to do this by building infrastructure and providing aid to the local people; a traditional means of winning the hearts and minds of the people. However, studies have determined that providing aid to the people has not gained their support for counterinsurgency operations.

In March of 2010 an international conference was held examining the strategy of winning the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. The conference agreed that there was a "surprisingly weak evidence base for the effectiveness of aid in promoting stabilization and security objectives." ("Winning the Hearts and Minds In Afghanistan") In other words, the policy of winning hearts and minds through providing aid was not working. The aid was helping the people, but they were not giving their support in return. Because of the failure to win the support of the people, counterinsurgency operations were ineffective.

Trying to understand this failure of….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Winning The Hearts And Minds In Afghanistan" (2014, February 20) Retrieved June 6, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/winning-hearts-minds-afghanistan-183237

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Winning The Hearts And Minds In Afghanistan" 20 February 2014. Web.6 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/winning-hearts-minds-afghanistan-183237>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Winning The Hearts And Minds In Afghanistan", 20 February 2014, Accessed.6 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/winning-hearts-minds-afghanistan-183237
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example