Put simply, there are two poles in Washington: the counterinsurgency experts, or COIN-istas, who believe Afghanistan's deteriorating security can only be reversed by adding tens of thousands of troops – perhaps as many as 80,000; and those who believe US interests in Afghanistan are few, and the best way to keep it on a low simmer is to employ a counterterrorism-like model – using drones, bombs, and special forces teams to keep Al Qaeda at bay.Come on, Lubold, you know better. "COIN-istas"?! That doesn't even make sense! It's even worse than Michael Cohen's consistent misspelling of the term as COINdanista!
Let's give credit where it's due: to SNLII, erstwhile commenter on this and other blogs, birthday boy, and creator of both "COINdinista" and "COINtra." This may mark the first (botched) use of either term in the non-blog media, so happy birthday, SNLII! (Do you get more than a dime for this mainstream infringement of your patent?)
