Village Stability Operations (VSO) in Afghanistan: Comparing Past Counterinsurgencies for Future Applications - Special Operations COIN, Philippine War, Malayan Emergency, Taliban, Karzai

Village Stability Operations (VSO) has been the cornerstone counterinsurgency strategy and primary mission for U.S. Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan since 2010. The VSO program has drawn criticism for human rights violations committed by the Afghan Local Police and poor reception by much of the Afghan population. Despite setbacks in the VSO, areas in rural Afghanistan, once safe havens for insurgents, have experienced increased security and stability.

This thesis compares the Philippines War (1899-1902) and the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) to VSO in Afghanistan along the areas of security, governance, and development. The comparison studies two considerably successful counterinsurgencies to VSO in order to examine the practices, and procedures to determine why and how the case studies were successful.

As the U.S. draws down military forces from Afghanistan in 2014, it is imperative to analyze the effectiveness of the VSO. Lessons from the VSO model can be directly applied by USSOF and conventional forces to other operations to include nation assistance, security force assistance, foreign internal defense, and counterterrorism. Given the current and future operational environments, fiscal constraints, and public opposition of mass deployments, the VSO model is relevant to counter complex problems throughout the world.