British and American military operations in the Battle of Helmand, 2006–2011
Résumé
In summer 2006, elements of the British Army were deployed to Helmand
province in southern Afghanistan. The US Army followed with a surge in 2009 and 2010.
The British and American military forces attempted to construct a counterinsurgency
(COIN) approach to win the war in Helmand from 2006 until 2011, but the operational
approach implemented was most often that of conventional warfighting. The inability to
successfully implement COIN owed not to a lack of will, but rather to short tours, mission
command, a lack of available resources, the particular situation on the ground in Helmand
and the propensity of the Taliban to launch major conventional operations during much of
the period in question.