Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou
I remember someone posting, a while back, an article that was critical of the US approach to the insurgency while congratulating the British for their "soft touch", what happened?

This just means that more Americans will be forced to try and pick up the slack once the British abdicate their responsibilities...
The military dimension isn't separate from the political dimension. British tactics succeeded in Northern Ireland because, concurrent to this, their politicians pursued a complementary strategy. Separate one from the other, and you'll have ideas that work against each other. There was a documentary series a while back, which looked back at the different sides in the conflict. One of the generals who commanded during the campaign concluded that nothing his forces actively did significantly contributed to the eventual victory, and that all the important work was done by politicians, as it had to be.