#28 BACKGROUND – Afghanistan: The Land, its Diverse Ethnic Peoples & the Pashtun Taliban

#28 BACKGROUND   Afghanistan:    The Land, its Diverse Ethnic Peoples & the Pashtun Taliban   – Dr Regeena Kingsley   The Land of Afghanistan Borders & Resources Few countries have a history so permeated with conquest and conflict than that of Afghanistan.  A forbiddingly inhospitable country, this 647,500 km² landlocked area is located in both Central Asia and on the western periphery of South Asia. It is bordered clockwise by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan and China to the northeast, and Pakistan to the east and south, and Iran to the west.  Afghanistan: Topographical view of Afghanistan

Read More

#27 My Research: National Caveats in the ISAF Operation in Afghanistan & their Impact on Operational Effectiveness, 2002-2012

#27 My Research: National Caveats in the ISAF Operation in Afghanistan         & their Impact on Operational Effectiveness, 2002-2012   – Dr Regeena Kingsley   * This blog is a revised excerpt taken from Dr Regeena Kingsley’s original doctoral research in Defence & Strategic Studies (2014), entitled: “Fighting against Allies: An Examination of “National Caveats” within the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Campaign in Afghanistan & their Impact on ISAF Operational Effectiveness, 2002-2012.”   My research comprises an in-depth study of the problem of restrictive national caveats within the multinational NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in Afghanistan, and

Read More

#26 Time to Study National Caveats: The “Caveat Gap” in Academic Research

#26 Time to Study National Caveats: The “Caveat Gap” in Academic Research   – Dr Regeena Kingsley   * This blog is a revised excerpt taken from Dr Regeena Kingsley’s original doctoral research in Defence & Strategic Studies (2014), entitled: “Fighting against Allies: An Examination of “National Caveats” within the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Campaign in Afghanistan & their Impact on ISAF Operational Effectiveness, 2002-2012.”   “There is a time to make peace, there is a time to make war.  It is even necessary, sometimes, to do both at the same time, but never by halves.”   « Il y a

Read More

#13 National Commanders: Caveat Mediators

#13 National Commanders: Caveat Mediators   – Dr Regeena Kingsley   In previous blogs it has been explained that Rules of Engagement (ROE) are instructions for the use of force by military forces, and that these instructions or rules relate to two specific issues – self-defence and mission accomplishment.   With regard to self-defence, when individuals, groups of individuals, or an armed force are declared Enemy, it is permissible for force to be used as a matter of course and offensive action to take place.  The Enemy force may be attacked, at the discretion and judgment of the military commander,

Read More