A government conducting COIN in its own territory will generally have greater strategic patience to stay the course of a protracted struggle. Another “home ground” advantage is the detailed understanding of the geog-
raphy, culture, history, sociology and politics of the affected country which
insurgents will already possess but the intervening country will usually have to
learn. Since the United States presently faces no credible internal insurgency, all U.S.
COIN campaigns are likely to be external interventions in support of a foreign
government (or in failed/collapsed states).
Written in 2009. Boy how things changed.