Counterinsurgency Expert Rejects Using Such Methods Against U.S. Population

At least one counterinsurgency expert strongly disagrees with former CIA officer Robert Grenier’s contention that counterinsurgency methods employed in the failed U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must be applied to defeat “extremism” in the U.S. “We do not need a counterinsurgency strategy to defeat right-wing extremism in the United States of America,” writes Andrew Exum, a former Army officer and DOD official who came to prominence during the development of the U.S. Army’s counterinsurgency doctrine in the 2005-2006 time period. “Not only that, but we shouldn’t listen to those who seek to apply the lessons of our failed campaigns abroad to our political challenges here,” Exum posits, singling out Grenier’s Feb. 2 NPR interview in particular.