"The UK during the Malay emergency"
OK, I won't argue over the success of the Malay campaign. Success is in the eye of the beholder. I know the UK moved a half billion villagers which effectively hindered the guerrillas, and accomplished that part of the objective, but I doubt they moved that many hearts or minds. The scale of the operation was a little different than Afghanistan and Iraq, but no doubt some valuable lessons to be gleaned.
Still, the US and her allies in SW Asia, stability is fleeting and remains only as long as military superiority (boots on the ground) remains in place and goes to h*ll afterward. So don't waste lives, ours or theirs, by hanging around any longer than you need to. Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan are going to establish their own security.
Sorry about the thread drift.