Locals Rule: Historical Lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces For
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This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. LOCALS RULE Historical Lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces for Afghanistan and Beyond Austin Long, Stephanie Pezard, Bryce Loidolt, Todd C. Helmus Prepared for the Special Operations Joint Task Force—Afghanistan Approved for public release; distribution unlimited NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE The research described in this report was prepared for the Special Operations Joint Task Force–Afghanistan. The research was conducted within the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract W74V8H-06-C-0002. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-7659-5 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. Cover images, top left: Civilian Irregular Defense Group Program training in Vietnam (U.S. Army Center of Military History); top right: a young Harki fighter in French Algeria, circa 1961 (Jean Poussin); bottom: Afghan Local Police (U.S. Army). © Copyright 2012 RAND Corporation Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND permissions page (http://www.rand.org/publications/ permissions.html). Published 2012 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface Local defense forces have often played a key role in counterinsurgen- cies throughout the 20th century. Today, local defense forces in the form of the Afghan Local Police constitute a major arm of the U.S. strategy to secure Afghanistan. This book seeks to draw lessons from previous efforts to build local defense forces. Specifically, it analyzes the use and management of local defense forces in eight major coun- terinsurgencies, from Indochina to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The goal is to inform U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan as well as other current or future conflicts. The book concludes that local defense forces can be highly effective in helping to defeat an insurgency but that the management of these forces presents enormous challenges. The final chapter summarizes key lessons learned and best practices for the man- agement of local defense forces. This research was sponsored by the Special Operations Joint Task Force–Afghanistan and conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center spon- sored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the -Uni fied Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. For information on RAND’s International Security and Defense Policy Center, see http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ndri/centers/isdp.html or contact the director (contact information is provided on the web page). iii Contents Preface ............................................................................. iii Summary .......................................................................... ix Acknowledgments ............................................................. xvii Abbreviations .................................................................... xix CHapTER ONE Introduction ....................................................................... 1 CHapTER TWO Indochina .......................................................................... 5 The Organization of Auxiliary Forces ........................................... 6 Special Purpose Auxiliaries ......................................................13 Auxiliaries and the End of the French War ....................................17 Motivations for Using Auxiliaries ...............................................18 Assessment ........................................................................ 20 Conclusion ........................................................................ 27 CHapTER THREE Algeria .............................................................................29 Local Defense in the Maghreb ................................................. 30 Evolution of the Different Forces ................................................41 The Evian Accords and the Fate of Local Defense Forces ....................45 Assessment .........................................................................47 Conclusion .........................................................................51 v vi Locals Rule: Historical Lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces CHapTER FOUR South Vietnam ...................................................................55 Civilian Irregular Defense Groups ..............................................55 Combined Action Platoons ......................................................61 RF/PFs, PSDF, and the Accelerated Pacification Campaign .................72 Conclusion and Assessment ......................................................76 CHapTER FivE Oman.............................................................................. 77 Oman, Dhofar, and Britain Before 1970 .......................................78 The Coup and Emergence of Local Defense, 1970–1971 ................... 80 The Tide Turns and Local Defense Matures, 1972–1974 ................... 87 Victory and Transformation of the Firqat, 1975–1985 .......................91 Conclusion and Assessment ..................................................... 94 CHapTER SIX El Salvador ....................................................................... 97 Local Defense in El Salvador ................................................... 98 Positive Assessments of Civil Defense ........................................ 100 Probems with Civil Defense ................................................... 101 Conclusion and Assessment .................................................... 105 CHapTER SEVEN Southern Lebanon ............................................................. 107 Israeli Operations and the Evolution of the Security Zone ................ 108 The Consolidation of the Free Lebanon Army, 1978–1982 ................ 111 Expansion, Professionalization, and Collapse, 1982–2000 ................ 118 Conclusion and Assessment .................................................... 128 CHapTER EiGHT The Soviets in Afghanistan .................................................. 131 Modernity Beckons: Afghanistan in the 1970s .............................. 132 A House Divided: The Afghan Government, 1980–1987 .................. 133 Local Defense in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, 1980–1987 .................................................................. 135 Soviet “Surge” and Withdrawal, 1987–1989 ................................. 139 Contents vii Najibullah’s Tightrope, 1990–1991 ........................................... 141 Kabul Burning, 1992–1993 .................................................... 144 Conclusion and Assessment .................................................... 147 CHapTER NiNE Iraq