No Easy Task: Fighting in Afghanistan

by Bernd Horn (Editor), Emily Spencer (Editor)

Overview

This collection of essays explores how fighting in the rugged, hostile lands of Afghanistan is no easy task.

Afghanistan has long been considered the graveyard of empires. Throughout their history, Afghans have endured the ravages of foreign invaders, from marauding hordes and imperial armies to global superpowers, while demonstrating a fierce independence and strong resistance to outside occupiers. Those who have ventured into Afghanistan with notions of controlling its people have soon discovered that fighting in that rugged, hostile land is no easy task. Afghans have proven to be tenacious and unrelenting foes.

No Easy Task examines this legacy of conflict, particularly from a Canadian perspective. What emerges is the difficulty faced by foreign forces attempting to impose their will over Afghans who, for their part, have consistently adapted tactics and strategies to stymie and defeat those they perceive as invaders and interlopers. It is within this complexity and challenge that the difficult counter-insurgency must be fought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459701632
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	03/10/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Colonel Bernd Horn, Ph.D., is an experienced Canadian forces infantry officer and military educator. He has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 30 books, including From Cold War to New Millennium and No Lack of Courage. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.
Dr. Emily Spencer is the director of research and education at the CANSOFCOM Professional Development Centre and a research associate with the Canadian Forces Leadership institute. She is the author of Solving the People Puzzle and the editor of The Difficult War. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Colonel Bernd Horn is a retired Regular Force infantry officer and military educator. Dr. Horn has authored, co-authored, and edited more than forty books, including A Most Ungentlemanly Way of War: The SOE and the Canadian Connection and No Ordinary Men: Special Operations Forces Missions in Afghanistan. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Dr. Emily Spencer is an assistant professor at the University of Northern British Columbia and a research associate with the Canadian Forces Leadership Institute. She is the author of Solving the People Puzzle and the editor of The Difficult War. She lives in Prince George, British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Brigadier-General Jonathan H. Vance

Introduction

Chapter 1
Adjust Your Sights: Leading Issues Likely To Arise In Any Counter-Insurgency Campaign
Dr. Michael A. Hennessy

Chapter 2       
The Quagmire of Great Powers: Dealing With the Afghan Way of War
Major Tony Balasevicius

Chapter 3       
Public Opinion Matters: The Struggle for Hearts and Minds
           
Dr. Emily Spencer

Chapter 4       
Coalition Counter-Insurgency Warfare in Afghanistan    
Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope

Chapter 5   
Campaigning in Afghanistan: A Uniquely Canadian Approach
Dr. Howard Coombs and Lieutenant-General (retired) Michel Gauthier

Chapter 6       
Sustaining Those Who Dare: Logistic Observations from Contemporary Afghanistan
Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad

Chapter 7   
More than Meets the Eye: The Invisible Hand - SOF in Afghanistan
Colonel Bernd Horn, PhD

Chapter 8       
Lesson Learned: Operation Medusa and the Taliban Epiphany
Colonel Bernd Horn, PhD

Chapter 9       
Opportunity Lost: The Canadian Involvement in the Development of the Afghan National Police
Major Alex D. Haynes

Chapter 10   
Counterinsurgency versus “Coin” In Bazaar-e-Panjwayi and Panjwayi District, 2008-2010: An Illustrative Study of a Canadian Problem
Dr. Sean M. Maloney