Matt Rowe
U.S. COIN doctrine, with its detailed field manuals and interagency frameworks, remains caught up in its reliance on building national armies—often exacerbated by misalignment between military and civilian efforts and the neglect of law enforcement resources. U.S. civilian agencies like the Department of State, Department of Justice, and others are often poorly structured or insufficiently resourced to sustain long-term stabilization operations. As a result, military-led nation-building frequently proceeds without the cultural insight or political sensitivity required for lasting success.
The “Green Zone” in Baghdad is emblematic of this failure. It was a fortified sanctuary for international personnel that reinforced physical and psychological separation from the Iraqi people.
As Rep Dennis Kucinich pointed out during a House sub-committee meeting on winning the hearts and minds in Iraq, “The perceived dissonance between American rhetoric and actions breeds mistrust at home and in Iraq about why we are there and how long we will stay…when we forget why we are there, when we forget it is their revolution not ours, we allow ourselves to be portrayed as arrogant agents of empire rather than as trustees of noble ideals.”
Rather than fostering legitimacy, the Green Zone signaled occupation and reinforced insurgent narratives of Western weakness and decadence. It implied that U.S. and staff hid safely behind the “wall” enjoying their typical decadent luxuries regularly shipped in from the West. Meanwhile, their military lackeys and highly paid mercenary contractors persecuted the God-fearing Iraqi people over access to oil.
At the more local level, while working in Iraq, my colleague was approached by a tribal elder who needed a village irrigation canal repaired. The elder pointed out that a new power plant was being built nearby and that the bulldozer required for the repair work sat idle most of the time. Recognizing an opportunity to build goodwill and strengthen local relationships, my colleague attempted to secure permission and funds to use the equipment—but was ultimately unsuccessful. Contractors and untrained Department of State personnel failed to grasp the significance of the canal to the village’s survival and the strategic value of responding to the elder’s request. This reflects a broader, longstanding weakness in U.S. COIN strategy: a lack of local context and the inability to recognize small, practical projects as valuable counterinsurgency opportunities.
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