Marc Lynch, formerly Abu Aardvark, has an excellent post called 10 Questions on Combating Violent Extremism, (a replacement for the 'global war on terror?').
Wither American foreign policy on this issue? This post is highly relevant given the painfully long deliberations of our strategy in Afghanistan, something I myself am of two minds on.
On the one hand, meddling in the affairs of the Middle East and South Asia has always produced serious problems (not to mention our meddling in South America). Sometimes we need to just step the hell back, quit lecturing and undermining our entire effort by not practicing what we preach, and let people figure out their own way.
On the other, in Afghanistan we made a commitment, we haven't delivered on what we promised, and it seems morally wrong to throw our hands and quit now.
That being said, there simply are not enough troops, not to mention qualified and willing civilians, equipment, or contractors with scruples to carry out an effective counterinsurgency. So I guess, to my surprise, I'm leaning towards lessening our presence rather than ramping up. However I certainly don't think it's right to abandon those populations in calmer areas where locals have no interest in helping opposing militant forces to those very militants.
In any case, Lynch's piece is definitely worth reading.
enjoy.
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