Quickly as I’m out of time to post and or to add my own comments, but here are two recommendations: the first is something to read (or a series of reading if you’re industrious) and the second is something to listen to. Both of these are on counterinsurgency today.
First is Dave Kilcullen’s response on the Small Wars Journal Blog to Edward Luttwak’s Dead End: Counter-Insurgency as Military Malpractice. (For more discussion, see the thread on the Small Wars Council discussion board.)
The second item of note is to be listened to. It’s an audio program (transcript to appear soon) by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Background Briefing with Stan Correy. By the way, on the topic of the Small Wars Journal and Council, the founders can be heard around 27 1/2 minutes in.