Limited Intervention: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Limited Stabilization, Limited Strike, and Containment Operations

Following the protracted and costly counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has turned to lower-cost, light- or small-footprint options. These options emphasize airpower and limited commitments of U.S. ground forces typically special operations forces to attain narrowly defined objectives, such as the weakening of specific terrorist organizations. This approach to combating irregular threats has been visible in limited U.S. military interventions in such countries as Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq again.