Cassandra in Oz: Counterinsurgency and Future War - Perspectives in Military History

March 18, 2017 - Dr. Conrad Crane

In the years following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the United States military grasped at the best way to engage in two wars, while remaining the world's super power. Dr. Conrad Crane, only recently retired from active duty service in the U.S. Army, found himself a modern Cassandra, warning the military leadership about the preparation requirements for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to conduct stability operations and counterinsurgency in Iraq. Dr. Crane’s continued push for proper planning in the eventual reconstruction of Iraq attracted the scrutiny of then-commander General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Retired). In this lecture and roundtable discussion, Dr. Crane and GEN Petreaus discuss the development of the formal response to the unpreparedness of American Forces: Field Manual 3-24/Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 3-33.5 Counterinsurgency. The presentation is complimented by questions and discussion from panelists Dr. Richard Lacquement, Colonel John Martin, U.S. Army (Retired), and Colonel Robert Balcavage, all of whom either served under GEN Petreaus and were implementers, or worked with Dr. Crane in development of the Counterinsurgency (COIN) manual. They discuss the implementation of the COIN doctrine, details about what went right and wrong in Iraq, and the lessons learned from over a decade of war.

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