Counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency is the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces. This definition comes from NATO Standardization Agency documents published in 2006. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as any military or political action taken against guerrillas or revolutionaries. It represents war by a state against a non-state adversary. Campaigns have been waged since ancient history. Western thought gained interest during European colonization periods. Modern thinking developed during decolonization eras. The distinction between civilians and combatants often blurs during these conflicts. Some operations attempt to win hearts and minds of populations supporting insurgents. Other campaigns use indiscriminate violence to intimidate suspected loyalists. Models combine conventional military operations with propaganda, psychological warfare, and assassinations. Insurgents exploit social issues known as gaps. When these gaps widen, they create an environment for rebellion. Counterinsurgency focuses on bridging these divides.
The third Marques of Santa Cruz de Marcenado wrote advice on rebellions between 1726 and 1730. His work Reflexiones Militares discussed spotting early signs of insurgency. He recognized that states rarely rise up without governor fault. He advocated clemency towards populations seeking their heart and love. General Thomas-Robert Bugeaud served extensively in the French war of conquest in Algeria. He conducted punitive raids called razzias targeting subsistence agriculture. David Galula gained practical experience as a French Army officer in the Algerian War. He proposed four laws stating the aim is gaining population support rather than territory control. Robert Grainger Ker Thompson wrote Defeating Communist Insurgency in 1966. He argued governments must function according to law and defeat political subversion first. Dr. David Kilcullen described three pillars of Security, Political, and Economic supporting Control based on Information. Military historian Martin van Creveld noted almost all counterinsurgency attempts end in failure. He identified time as the key factor in these conflicts. Akali Omeni explored historical experience, organizational culture, and doctrine explaining military performance against insurgent warfare.
Dr. Lorenzo Zambernardi clarified tradeoffs involved in counterinsurgency operations in The Washington Quarterly published July 2010. He labeled the situation an impossible trilemma requiring choice between two goals out of three. States can protect armed forces while destroying insurgents by indiscriminately killing civilians like Ottomans did in Balkans. They can choose to protect civilians along with their own forces but abandon destroying insurgents. A state can discriminate between combatants and non-combatants while killing insurgents only by increasing risks for its troops. Van Creveld illustrated this dynamic using a metaphor of killing a child. An adult fighting a child feels acting unjustly if harming them yet foolish if harmed. General Patrick Walters stated his objective was ensuring few people were killed rather than maximizing terrorist deaths. In Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom suffered three thousand fatal casualties including seventeen hundred civilians. Only about three hundred terrorists died creating a ratio of three to one. If prerequisites for excellent intelligence are lacking, van Creveld posits counterinsurgents must use methods exemplified by the Hama massacre. Syrian president Hafez al-Assad sent a division under brother Rifaat to demolish the city killing between ten and twenty-five thousand people.
The terms drain the sea or drain the water involve forced relocation of civilian populations to expose rebels. Relocation deprives insurgents of support cover and resources from local populations. Examples include Bar Kokhba revolt, Second Anglo-Boer War, Greek Civil War, and General Order No. 11 in 1863 American Civil War. Nazi Germany's counterinsurgency became intertwined with Final Solution during World War II. Edward Luttwak stated a massacre once in a while remained an effective warning for decades. Draining the sea can also be accomplished through genocide by killing population blamed for insurgency. A downside is severity may provoke increased resistance from targeted population. Contemporary concerns about public opinion and international law often rule out such campaigns. The Strategic Hamlet Program used by US forces in South Vietnam mirrored British methods in Malaya. By end of 1951 some four hundred thousand ethnic Chinese moved into fortifications designated New Villages. Dutch Captain Raymond Westerling ordered registration of all Javanese arriving in Makassar during Sulawesi Campaign. He surrounded suspected villages at night driving population to central location before shooting identified terrorists without investigation.
General David Petraeus wrote Counterinsurgency Field Manual describing use of public diplomacy through military means. Counterinsurgency is effective when integrated into comprehensive strategy employing all instruments of national power. Understanding host nation environment essential for operations success. Public diplomacy only works with clear understanding of culture and population at hand. Insurgents win war by attacking internal will and international opposition. Counterinsurgency operations need treating prisoners humanely according to American values and principles. Political social and economic programs usually more valuable than conventional military operations addressing root causes. These programs designed making local population feel secure safe and aligned with counterinsurgency efforts. Successful warfare allows population seeing counterinsurgency efforts including host nation in rebuilding programs. War fought among people and for people between insurgents and counterinsurgents. Winning requires utilizing strategic communications and information operations successfully. Competition involves ideas ideologies and socio-political movements. Information operatives identify key audiences communicators and public leaders to influence reach out with information. Free flow of information via television telephone Internet presents conflicting messages defeating intended effects quickly. Close relationships with media members ensure locals understand objectives feeling secure with government.
British forces used relocation method with considerable success during Malayan Emergency. The Briggs Plan implemented fully in 1950 relocated Chinese Malayans into protected New Villages. Martin van Creveld noted results identical to Aden Kenya Cyprus not considered victories despite British claims. French major counterinsurgency wars occurred in colonies Indochina and Algeria. McClintock cited basic points of French doctrine as Quadrillage Ratissage Regroupement Tache d'huile oil spot strategy. Battle of Algiers resulted in twenty-four thousand detentions with most tortured estimated three thousand killed. It broke National Liberation Front infrastructure but killed off French legitimacy regarding hearts and minds. Roger Trinquier suggested separating guerrilla from supporting population occupying zones making area dangerous turning people against movement. General Jacques Pâris de Bollardière confronted Massu over orders institutionalizing torture issuing open letter condemning danger to army moral values. He was imprisoned for sixty days. Salan formed underground Organisation armée secrète right-wing terrorist group including 1962 assassination attempt against de Gaulle. Portugal conducted large-scale operations in Angola Portuguese Guinea Mozambique against independentist guerrillas supported by Eastern Bloc China. Small armed forces conducted three counterinsurgency wars simultaneously separated thousands kilometers developing own doctrine.
United States conducted campaigns during Philippine-American War Vietnam War post-2001 Afghanistan Iraq War. Wars in Iraq Afghanistan increased interest American military exemplified by 2006 publication joint Army Field Manual 3-24 Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5 Counterinsurgency replacing documents published 20-25 years prior. Views on manual contents mixed. 2014 version acquired new title Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies consisting of three main parts. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction concluded US government greatly overestimated ability using COIN stabilization tactics long-term success. Report found successes stabilizing Afghan districts rarely lasted longer than physical presence coalition troops civilians. Backlashes by insurgents local population common according to scholarly studies. William B. Caldwell IV wrote about 101st Airborne Division increasingly involved conducting special operations training other states military security forces known as foreign internal defense. Announced the 14th of January 2016 one thousand eight hundred soldiers from division Headquarters 2nd Brigade Combat Team deploy soon regular rotations Baghdad Erbil train advise Iraqi Army Kurdish Peshmerga forces expected move toward Mosul Islamic State de facto headquarters Defense Secretary Ash Carter told division soldiers preparing Iraqi ground troops expel group.
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Common questions
What is the definition of counterinsurgency according to NATO Standardization Agency documents published in 2006?
Counterinsurgency is the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces. This definition comes from NATO Standardization Agency documents published in 2006.
Who wrote advice on rebellions between 1726 and 1730 regarding early signs of insurgency?
The third Marques of Santa Cruz de Marcenado wrote advice on rebellions between 1726 and 1730. His work Reflexiones Militares discussed spotting early signs of insurgency.
When did Dr. Lorenzo Zambernardi clarify tradeoffs involved in counterinsurgency operations in The Washington Quarterly?
Dr. Lorenzo Zambernardi clarified tradeoffs involved in counterinsurgency operations in The Washington Quarterly published July 2010. He labeled the situation an impossible trilemma requiring choice between two goals out of three.
How many ethnic Chinese moved into fortifications designated New Villages by end of 1951 during the Strategic Hamlet Program?
By end of 1951 some four hundred thousand ethnic Chinese moved into fortifications designated New Villages. The Strategic Hamlet Program used by US forces in South Vietnam mirrored British methods in Malaya.
What date was announced for one thousand eight hundred soldiers from division Headquarters 2nd Brigade Combat Team to deploy to Baghdad Erbil?
Announced the 14th of January 2016 one thousand eight hundred soldiers from division Headquarters 2nd Brigade Combat Team deploy soon regular rotations Baghdad Erbil train advise Iraqi Army Kurdish Peshmerga forces expected move toward Mosul Islamic State de facto headquarters Defense Secretary Ash Carter told division soldiers preparing Iraqi ground troops expel group.