The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 63 Learning the Lessons of History Lessons Encountered: Learning from the Long War Richard D. Hooker Jr. and Joseph J. Collins, editors; National Defense University Press, 2015; available gratis as a PDF or ebook at http://ndupress. ndu.edu/Books/LessonsEncountered. aspx, 473 pages. Reviewed By Todd Kushner Throughout his tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2011-2015), General Martin Dempsey pushed the U.S. government to identify and inter- nalize the strategic lessons arising from its 15 years of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The National Defense Uni- versity’s Institute for National Strategic Studies responded to that tasking with this penetrating volume, Lessons Encoun- tered: Learning from the Long War. As editors Richard D. Hooker Jr. and Joseph J. Collins note in their intro- duction, “Not learning from wars can be catastrophic”— a definite understatement! With the U.S. military and Foreign Service likely to be engaged in future nation- building and counterinsur- gency efforts, both institu- tions have a deep interest in avoiding the mistakes of past campaigns and applying the lessons of the successes. Warning: Perusing this volume will force readers to confront painful reali- ties! As the contributors document, the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama frequently failed to define strategic problems, set forth clear strategic aims and formulate workable operational plans, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. In particular, they did not adequately orchestrate the elements of U.S. national power or resolve significant interagency differences. Our military and civilian leaders habitually misunderstood their coun- terparts’ decision-making processes and, consequently, talked past each other. U.S. efforts in both countries were plagued by confusion over who was in charge, given the fact that multiple agencies and commands seemed to be running independent programs. As a result, even though the U.S. govern- ment spent $1.6 trillion just to cover the direct costs of both wars, key elements like foreign assistance were signifi- cantly under-resourced. Each chapter of Lessons Encountered does an excellent job of summarizing relevant events, analyzing the U.S. approach to the specific situation, and drawing the relevant lessons. It is not always clear, however, how con- tributors envision implementing their recommendations. For example, calling for greater awareness of when “a mission demands interagency collaboration and mak[ing] special provisions for it” does not exactly constitute a roadmap to guide future decision-makers. While the book contains extensive, helpful background material, includ- ing an index would have helped read- ers identify and revisit specific topics. Because each chapter is self-contained, the quality of the writing and analysis varies a good deal, but Foreign Ser- vice readers will find the chapters on national-level decision-making and coordination, and security force assistance, particularly pertinent. Lessons Encountered usefully reminds us that the United States can claim some genuine successes thanks to its nation-building efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past 15 years. But the book also shows that most of those gains came in spite of the system, as individual civilian and military leaders used dedication, adaptability, creativity and teamwork to overcome institutional, systemic and strategic challenges. The shortcomings identified in this volume contributed to the risks faced by our military and civilian personnel and contractors on the ground, more than 6,800 of whom gave up their lives and more than 52,000 of whom have been physically wounded in these operations. Now is the time to truly learn, and apply, the lessons “encountered” in these pages—before our nation is once again called upon to secure and rebuild a foreign land. Todd Kushner, a State Department Foreign Service officer since 1985, is currently a visiting faculty member at the College of International Security Affairs. He served as a political adviser in Iraq from 2010 to 2011, among many other assignments. BOOKS Warning: Perusing this volume will force readers to confront painful realities about the U.S. role in Iraq and Afghanistan!