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Despite the ground-level complexity, at a higher level of abstraction,some fundamentals do seem to apply throughout this type of warfare. These fundamentals are few—I count only two—and they are very simple to express but extremely difficult to act upon.

The first is to understand in detail what drives the conflict in any given area or with any given population group. This implies the need to constantly update that understanding as the environment shifts, to develop solid partnerships with reliable local allies, to design, in concert with those allies, locally tailored measures to target the drivers that sustain the conflict and thus to break the cycle of violence.

The second is to act with respect for local people, putting the wellbeing of noncombatant civilians ahead of any other consideration, even— in fact, especially—ahead of killing the enemy. Convincing threatened populations that we are the winning side, developing genuine partnerships with them, demonstrating that we can protect them from the guerrillas and that their best interests are served by cooperating with us is the critical path in counterinsurgency, because insurgents cannot operate without the support—active, passive, or enforced—of the local population.