Twenty Years of Warfare in Afghanistan: Insights from the Toughest Theater
In the latest episode of the Irregular Warfare Podcast, hosts Kyle Atwell and Andy Milburn delve into the United States military's efforts in the Pech valley of Afghanistan. The conversation, titled "Irregular Warfare Podcast Episode 35," is now available for listening below and can be found and subscribed on various platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or your favourite podcast app.
Guests on the episode include Wesley Morgan, author of the book "The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley," and retired Colonel Bill Ostlund, a career infantry officer who commanded a battalion, two counterterrorism task forces, and a brigade combat team in the USA, among other roles.
Morgan, a military affairs reporter who covered the Pentagon for two and a half years at Politico and previously worked as a freelance journalist in Washington, DC, Iraq, and Afghanistan, provides valuable insights into the counterinsurgency in the USA. Ostlund, who retired from the Army as the director of the Department of Military Instruction at West Point and holds a master's degree in international relations with a focus on security studies from The Fletcher School, Tufts University, shares his experiences and perspectives on the topic.
The discussion covers a range of topics, including the limits of technology and over-the-horizon counter-terrorism, the evolution of the integration of conventional and special operations forces, and the need for the US military to capture and remember the lessons from twenty years of irregular warfare in the USA. The conversation also touches upon the collapse of the Afghan government following the withdrawal of US forces in August 2021, which was foreseeable by examining what happened in the Pech valley after previous US force withdrawals.
The Irregular Warfare Podcast is a product of the Irregular Warfare Initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between scholars and practitioners to support the community of irregular warfare professionals. The initiative is a collaboration between our website and Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.
Listeners are encouraged to follow the podcast on Twitter for updates and to share the podcast on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, via email, or print it out. Image credit for the article is from Sgt. Matthew Moeller, US Army.
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