Brett H. McGurk  A surge to sovereignty in Afghanistan  By Brett
H. McGurk November 8, 2009  E-mail this article  Invalid E-mail
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| Text size +  THE AIM in any successful counterinsurgency is to
support and strengthen a sovereign and friendly government. The
inherent paradox is that use of US military power, or even US
diplomatic leverage, to achieve that aim undercuts the perceived
legitimacy and sovereignty of the government it seeks to
support. Enemies exploit this paradox to their benefit, labeling
US troops as occupiers and governments allied with us as
puppets, undeserving of support from their own people.  From
Vietnam to Pakistan to Iraq and now Afghanistan, this is a
lesson the United States continues to get wrong - making short-
term decisions with unintended long-term consequences.  In 1963,
the United States supported a coup against the corrupt but
allied president of South Vie