“Heart and Mind (HAM) theory is identified as winning the hearts and minds of the population, a technique based on the implementation of the strategy counterinsurgency (COIN) to persuade the population to support the government and reject the insurgents. Counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy, as described by President Obama and closest to General Petraeus, is the Heart and Mind (HAM) theory. President Obama's speech identified the United States' strategic approach to Afghanistan as three elements. The three fundamental elements addressed by President Obama during his Afghanistan strategy speech are identified as follows: 1) using the military effort to create the conditions for transition, 2) a civilian surge that reinforces positive actions, and 3 ) an effective partnership with Pakistan. .” These elements align with the premises of HAM and the strategy of COIN. Furthermore, in General Petraeus's COIN strategy, he specifically shifts the enemy's focus to empowering the Afghan population and their government. Building a people-centered nation requires large numbers of U.S. ground forces, dispersed and living among the local population in an effort to turn the hearts and minds of insurgents and build a nation. President Obama's speech is consistent with what General Petraeus wrote in FM 3-24 on counterinsurgency through the use of principles. The key principles of General Petraeus' COIN are identified as: 1) focusing on the protection of civilians rather than the death of the enemy 2) assuming greater risk and 3) using minimum, not maximum, force. The focus is on the Afghan people as the center of gravity. Involving people is a key element of the heart-mind theory and COIN strategy. Afghans... middle of paper ... are moving forward, but the Afghan people need renewed pride in providing for themselves. The negatives are whether or not the enemy is waiting for the United States and its allies to leave before challenging the Afghan people and their government. The positive side is that when the United States and its allies are gone, the Afghan people will have a viable government with economic growth and trained security forces in place to deter and prevent the enemy from infiltrating their country. Works cited by Gian P. Gentile. “A Tactical Strategy: Population- and Military-Centric COIN,” Settings (August 2009), 9. President Obama. “Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-address-nation, 3.Gentile, “A Tactical Strategy: military-centric COIN population”, 6.