General David H. Petraeus assumed command of ISAF and U.S. Forces - Afghanistan on July 4, 2010.  Earlier, he commanded the Multi-National Force-Iraq during "the surge." When he introduced his counter insurgency strategy to the Iraq war in 2006, there was little hope that Iraq would survive as a nation. Today, although the country still has problems, the surge strategy there worked, and is now being employed in Afghanistan. 

GEN Petraeus, who co-authored the Army Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Field Manual, Counter-insurgency theory, wrote that "The primary objective of any COIN operation is to foster the development of effective governance by a legitimate government." Accordingly the ISAF in Afghanistan is in the business of nation building.  GEN Petraeus earned his MPA and Ph.D. degrees in International Relations from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He later served as an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the US Military Academy, and is sometimes referred to as the "warrior scholar." 

The key to COIN operations is having troops out of their vehicles and engaging the community as they build trust relationships with the people they're trying to protect. Combat operations alone will not bring peace, without the development of good governance. Thus, combat operations and diplomacy must be working toward the same goals, because COIN is a mind set, not a tactic, technique, or procedure. GEN Petraeus knows all too well that aggressively establishing security must be combined with appropriate political and economic action to put Afghans in charge on a long-term, but sure road to success.