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Changing approaches to security / Working Paper

The "soldier-diplomat" in Afghanistan and Iraq

05/10/2009 By Edward Burke

Multinational Force-Iraq

The US and UK Armed Forces have learned the painful lessons of their limited engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion of both countries, and are now prepared to assume wide-ranging humanitarian and reconstruction tasks.  ‘Stabilisation’ by the military is crucial to the successful prosecution of any counterinsurgency campaign but has led to an inevitable encroachment upon ‘civilian’ responsibilities, the militarisation of aid and the emergence of a more political military.

The repercussions for civil-military relations are profound and poorly understood.  Drawing upon recent field research in Iraq, this FRIDE paper argues that, while the military is often better placed to provide immediate relief in the most insecure environments, civilian supervision over stability operations must be asserted at every level to reverse the ‘creeping militarisation’ of foreign policy. To undertake this complex task will require the emergence of a civilian doctrine and an unconventional diplomat. 

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Keywords

Afghanistan Civil Military Relations Civil society Conflict Iraq Middle East

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Bio author: Edward Burke

Political trends in the Persian Gulf region. Iraq. Yemen. Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia. Politics of energy in the Middle East.