ABSTRACT
The war in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 is a story of a theater in transition. The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 absorbed nearly all of the American public’s attention and dramatically shifted Afghanistan to the secondary war, designated as the “economy of force” theater. The Afghan war presented a unique confluence of military, diplomatic, and economic challenges. This chapter describes the requirements of theater command under those conditions and reinforces the necessity of adaptable leadership when faced with constrained resources, muddled interagency coordination, and limited guidance from Washington. Most of all, it is an account of adaptation and flexibility of command in war.
