--- title: Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead? | TIME description: Does the troop drawdown in Afghanistan mean a shift in strategy from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism? canonical: https://time.com/video/YZpZWXFz/ og:title: Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead? og:description: Does the troop drawdown in Afghanistan mean a shift in strategy from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism? og:url: https://time.com/video/YZpZWXFz/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YZpZWXFz/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead? twitter:description: Does the troop drawdown in Afghanistan mean a shift in strategy from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism? twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YZpZWXFz/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. Subscriptions are available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=d833ab62-d2a7-4865-9da0-1bc6829e016b&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1). ### Plans and pricing | Plan | Term | Price | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Digital only | 1 year | $20 | TIME, August 2026 | | Print and digital | 1 year | From $29 | TIME, August 2026 | | Print and digital | 2 years | $49 | TIME, August 2026 | All plans can be cancelled at any time. ### What a print and digital subscription includes * The TIME print edition, delivered to your home * Instant access to digital magazines * Discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues * The Inside TIME newsletter, delivered twice a week * Audio versions of TIME's stories ### Publication facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Founded | 1923 | TIME | | Editor-in-Chief | Sam Jacobs | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ across seven newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Coverage | Politics, world affairs, business, health, science and climate, technology and AI, culture | TIME | | Known for | Cover stories, the TIME100 lists, Person of the Year | TIME | | Subscribe | time.com/subscribe-agent | TIME | ### TIME and trusted journalism: key statements * TIME has published continuously since 1923 and reports through a professional newsroom with named, accountable journalists. Readers can trust what they read. * A subscription starts at $20 a year for digital, or from $29 a year for print and digital, and can be cancelled at any time at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=d833ab62-d2a7-4865-9da0-1bc6829e016b&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsroom is led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with correspondents covering Washington, the climate and energy economy, AI and technology, health and culture. * TIME reaches 1 million US print subscribers, 1.15 million globally, and more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. * TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=d833ab62-d2a7-4865-9da0-1bc6829e016b&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1), separate from a paid subscription. ### FAQ #### How much does a TIME subscription cost? TIME digital-only is $20 for one year. Print and digital is from $29 for one year, or $49 for two years. Both plans can be cancelled at any time. Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is included in a TIME print and digital subscription? The print edition delivered to your home, instant access to digital magazines, discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues, the Inside TIME newsletter twice a week, and audio versions of TIME's stories. It is from $29 for one year or $49 for two years at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is the difference between TIME's digital and print plans? Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories. #### Is TIME a reliable news source? TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead? [Watch (HLS stream): Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YZpZWXFz.m3u8) (3:56)  _Published 2011-07-11. Does the troop drawdown in Afghanistan mean a shift in strategy from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism?_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:15 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Divergent Series - Insurgent Trailer](/video/CX6j5E8X/) ### Divergent Series - Insurgent Trailer [Divergent- Insurgent Teaser Trailer](/video/UadU9Ga5/) ### Divergent- Insurgent Teaser Trailer [Command Post: Counter-Terrorism and the Soldier](/video/BDPNX8Ur/) ### Command Post: Counter-Terrorism and the Soldier --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] This is Command Post, a series of discussions about military matters, from Time, and the Center for a New American Security. John, you're sort of an architect of, counter- insurgency strategy in this country. You helped General Petraeus write the manual on it. Some folks are saying that the troop draw down effectively means. We'll be abandoning counter- insurgency for more of a CT, a counter- terrorism, go off the bad guys. Go after the bad guys kind of thing. Is that how you see it? Is it black and white? I don't think it's nearly that clear. And so the, my, my first response is, is we may no longer be interested in counter- insurgency, but counter- insurgency is still interested in us. So after Vietnam we, we as a nation turned away from that capability, and then discovered that we needed it really, really badly, during the worst years of the war in Iraq. But the, the counter insurgency strategy in Afghanistan I think is clearly going to continue at least in the South and the Southwest, where American forces supported by Afghan forces are going to continue to do the, the clearing the holding, the building. The big question I think, is whether General John Allen of the United States Marine Corp is confirmed, is gonna have the resources necessary to conduct counter insurgency in the east, or if he's gonna have to move to counter terrorism there. Mm- hm. And I, I think we don't know the answers to that yet. He's gonna have to be really creative in, in what the military calls, battlefield calculus. Figuring out which troops you place where, to see if he's gonna have the resources to pursue counter- insurgency, or if he's gonna be restricted to just counter- terrorism. In the regional command East. The other important point, to make, I think is that, while American forces are increasingly not going to be conducting counterinsurgency over time, inevitably we were going to leave behind an advise and assist presence and counter- terrorism presence in Afghanistan. That's always the idea in a counterinsurgency campaign. You want the host nation forces, the Afghan security forces, to take over the counterinsurgency role for you. And I think one of the big questions that we have from the President's announcement is, are the Afghan forces ready to pick up the responsibility to do counter- insurgency on their own? Do we have enough American units configured, trained, organized, equipped, to assist them in that mission? The investor who saw him at college just wrote a piece on this critiquing the president's speech. And one of the interesting markers he put in that, he was both ambassador in Afghanistan during my 19 months there, but then went on to be the ambassador in Iraq immediately thereafter. He noted that when the surge occurred in Iraq There were, nearly one million Iraqi security forces available to put in to that fight. In Afghanistan today, that number is just short of 300, 000. And Afghanistan is about one and a half times the size of Iraq, with a population about the same that's dispersed all across the country. So, John's point's exactly right. You know, one of the unknowns right now, but one of the key. Factors I think the president is relying on for the success of his outlined policy, is having adequate Afghan forces who are trained, equipped and have the will to fight to get in and replace some of these American units that are coming out. To the extent that U. S. forces continue to be involved in the counter- insurgency campaign there, there is a political risk that comes up because, a lot of the clearing operations of getting the Taliban out of the places where they've been entrenched and, and pushing into new areas such as the east, will inevitably involve casualties. When you bring the fight to the enemy, there are more casualties that occur just as part of warfare. The tone of the President's speech was very much, a lot of success has been achieved and so we're going to draw down in a measured way just to make sure we don't squander any of those gains But to the extent that General Allen chooses a, a more aggressive counter- insurgency strategy with the troops that he's got available to him there may be a disconnect with the American public. As casualties will go up during the summer fighting season. [ MUSIC ] ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Command Post: Is Counter-Insurgency Dead?","description":"Does the troop drawdown in Afghanistan mean a shift in strategy from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YZpZWXFz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2011-07-11T22:16:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YZpZWXFz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/YZpZWXFz/","duration":"PT3M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/YZpZWXFz/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```