DOCSLIB.ORG

Conflicting Thoughts of Tactics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Michael Gustafson National Defence University Department of Tactics and Operational Art Series 1, No. 3/2014 The Duality of T actical Thought The Duality of Tactical Thought A Study of how Swedish Land Forces’ Commanders view Tactics in Irregular Warfare Michael Gustafson Series 1, No. 3/2014 National Defence University Tel. +358 299 800 ISBN 978-951-25-2604-8 (pbk.) Department of Tactics and Operational Art www.mpkk.fi ISBN 978-951-25-2605-5 (pdf) P.O. BOX 7, FI-00861 Helsinki Finland NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF TACTICS AND OPERATIONAL ART SERIES 1: N0 3/2014 MAANPUOLUSTUSKORKEAKOULU TAKTIIKAN LAITOS JULKAISUSARJA 1: NO 3/2014 The Duality of Tactical Thought A Study of how Swedish Land Forces’ Commanders view Tactics in Irregular Warfare Captain (N) Michael Gustafson NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF TACTICS AND OPERATIONAL ART HELSINKI 2014 The Duality of Tactical Thought Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu, Taktiikan laitos Julkaisusarja 1: No 3/2014 Väitöskirja / National Defence University, Department of Tactics and Operational Art Series 1: No 3/2014 Doctoral dissertation Author: Captain (N) Michael Gustafson Supervising professor: Professor, Col Pasi Kesseli National Defence University, Finland Preliminary examiners: Doctor of Philosophy Håkan Gunneriusson, Swedish National Defence College, Stockholm Doctor of Philosophy (Education) Vesa Nissinen, Finnish Defence Forces Official opponent: Professor Torsten Björkman Swedish National Defence College, Stockholm To download our latest publications in PDF format, please visit National Defence University web site http://www.mpkk.fi and Publication Archive Doria http://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/72633 ISBN 978-951-25-2604-8 (pbk.) ISBN 978-951-25-2605-5 (PDF) ISSN 1238-2744 Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu – National Defence University Taktiikan laitos – Department of Tactics and Operational Art Juvenes Print Tampere 2014 To General Sir Frank Kitson TACTICAL THOUGHT 2014 September 29th Abstract This is a sociological study of the views of officers in the Swedish Army and its Amphibious Forces on tactics in Irregular Warfare (IW), in particular, Counterinsurgency (COIN). IW comprises struggles, where the military weaker part uses an indirect approach with smaller units and integrates the civilian and military dimensions in a violence spectrum including subversion, terrorism, Guerrilla Warfare and infantry actions. IW is the main armed warfare style in insurgencies. COIN is the combined political, military, economic, social and legal actions in counter insurgencies. Data has been collected by means of interviews with almost all (n =43) officers, who were either commanding battalions or rifle and manoeuvre companies while undergoing training for general warfare and international operations. The main theoretical and methodological inspiration is the traditional one for research on social fields, inaugurated by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The statistical technique used is Multiple Correspondence Analysis. As a background and context base, an inquiry inspired by the Begriffsgechichte (Conceptual History) tradition explores the genesis and development of understandings of the term Irregular Warfare. The research question is outlined as; “how can contemporary Swedish military thought on tactics in Irregular Warfare be characterized using descriptive patterns, mapped in relation to background factors and normative standards? The most significant findings are that there are two main opposing notions separating the officers’ views on tactics in Irregular Warfare: (1) a focus on larger, combat oriented and collectively operating military units versus smaller and larger, more intelligence oriented and dispersed operating units, and (2) a focus on military tasks and kinetic effects versus military and civilian tasks as well as “soft” effects. The distribution of these views can be presented as a two-dimensional space structured by the two axes. This space represents four categories of tactics, partly diverging from normative military standards for Counterinsurgency. This social space of standpoints shows different structural tendencies for background factors of social and cultural character, particularly dominant concerning military backgrounds, international mission experiences and civilian education. Compared to military standards for Counterinsurgency, the two tactical types characterized by a Regular Warfare mind-set stands out as counter-normative. Signs of creative thought on military practice and theory, as well as a still persistent Regular Warfare doxa are apparent. Power struggles might thus develop, effecting the transformation to a broadened warfare culture with an enhanced focus also on Irregular Warfare. The result does not support research results arguing for a convergence of military thought in the European transformation of Armed Forces. The main argument goes beyond tactics and suggests sociological analysis on reciprocal effects regarding strategy, operational art, tactics as well as leadership, concerning the mind-set and preferences for Regular, Irregular and Hybrid Warfare. Keywords: Bourdieu, military thought, tactics, Irregular Warfare, Multiple Correspondence Analysis, field theory, sociology, War Studies. i TACTICAL THOUGHT 2014 September 29th Acknowledgements To Henriette, Veronica, mum and dad, - this work is for you. To Nils-Marius and Tommy, who encouraged and believed in me beyond my own recognition. All of you have acknowledged the purpose of unremitting hard work in life and gave me endless support along the way. I am deeply grateful to the Swedish National Defence College for allowing me to study and to the Finnish National Defence University for the opportunity of joining the doctoral programme. Researching tactical thought within the Swedish Armed Forces, while in the midst of a European transformation of military affairs has been most challenging and educational. Tactics lies at the core of the military profession not only as a practice but also as theory. Discussing perspectives and indeed the multiple standpoints on this topic in seminars with fellow Nordic officers and members of the academia has been a pleasure and a gift to treasure. However, the field of tactics still generates rather a low interest within the subject of War Studies at the Swedish National Defence College; even the theories inspired by Pierre Bourdieu are not well-known areas of study. Moreover, my research during the years has been a yogic experience. Concurrently, while pursuing this academic work with its rules and doxa, I undertook training to become a Kundalini yoga teacher. Yoga means “unite” and during the process, I developed intellectual and personal philosophical perspectives and methods for viewing and living life far beyond my earlier understandings. Life has repeatedly and painfully changed, completely beyond my control; I am today not the person I was when I started this work. Now that my work is complete, I would especially like to thank my supervisor Pasi Kesseli, colonel and professor, for trust, guidance and colleagueship. To my supervisor in theory and methodology, Donald Broady, professor emeritus at the Department of Sociology, director of the research unit SEC (Sociology of Education and Culture) at Uppsala University; I extend my sincere appreciation for all good support. I would like to direct a very special thanks to General Sir Frank Kitson for inspiration and invaluable correspondence. I am very grateful for the encouraging support from my assistant supervisor Anders Palmgren, lieutenant commander and Ph.D. I am also indebted to the pre-examiners, docent Vesa Nissinen and doctor Håkan Gunneriusson, for giving me important verdicts. I would like to thank professor Jim Nyce at Ball State University and professor Gerry Larsson at the Swedish National Defence College for constructive feed-back during all the work. Special thanks go to my colleagues in the Department of Military Studies, Swedish National Defence College for their support. I am grateful to Ingrida Leimanis for valuable assistance regarding language and to Dilek Thulinsson for the help with text formations. A sincere thanks goes to the colleagues at SEC, Uppsala University, in particular Mikael Börjesson, Tobias Dalberg and Håkan Forsberg, for their support in Multiple Correspondence Analysis work. Finally, I thank doctor Yogi Bhajan for provoking, inspiring and uplifting my view of life and living life; keeping up, no matter what hardship experienced. Michael Gustafson Stockholm 29 October 2014 ii TACTICAL THOUGHT 2014 September 29th CONTENT 1 Point of departure for the study ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction to the chapter 1 1.2 Introduction, aim and summary of the research work 1 1.3 Background to the research focus 4 1.4 The research situation 7 1.5 The problem and research question 16 1.6 The research design 17 1.7 Demarcations 19 1.8 Disposition 20 2 Theory, methodology and empirical material ..................................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction to the chapter 21 2.2 Theoretical perspectives 21 2.3 Standpoints and background factors viewed with an approach to field and capital concepts 29 2.4 Methodology 34 2.5 Empirical material and sources; an overview 37 3 How can so-called Irregular Warfare be understood? ...................................................... 41 3.1 Introduction to the chapter 41 3.2 Background and questions 41 3.3 Background regarding
Recommended publications
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science

    The London School of Economics and Political Science

    The London School of Economics and Political Science Mercenaries and the State: How the hybridisation of the armed forces is changing the face of national security Caroline Varin A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2012 ii Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of <83,157> words. iii Abstract The military has been a symbol of nationhood and state control for the past two hundred years. As representatives of a society’s cultural values and political ambitions, the armed forces have traditionally been held within the confines of the modern state. Today, however, soldiers are expected to operate in the shadows of conflicts, drawing little attention to themselves and to their actions; they are physically and emotionally secluded from a civilian population whose governments, especially in the ‘West’, are proceeding to an unprecedented wave of demilitarisation and military budget cuts.
  • Warfare in a Fragile World: Military Impact on the Human Environment

    Warfare in a Fragile World: Military Impact on the Human Environment

    Recent Slprt•• books World Armaments and Disarmament: SIPRI Yearbook 1979 World Armaments and Disarmament: SIPRI Yearbooks 1968-1979, Cumulative Index Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapon Proliferation Other related •• 8lprt books Ecological Consequences of the Second Ihdochina War Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Environment Publish~d on behalf of SIPRI by Taylor & Francis Ltd 10-14 Macklin Street London WC2B 5NF Distributed in the USA by Crane, Russak & Company Inc 3 East 44th Street New York NY 10017 USA and in Scandinavia by Almqvist & WikseH International PO Box 62 S-101 20 Stockholm Sweden For a complete list of SIPRI publications write to SIPRI Sveavagen 166 , S-113 46 Stockholm Sweden Stoekholol International Peace Research Institute Warfare in a Fragile World Military Impact onthe Human Environment Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI is an independent institute for research into problems of peace and conflict, especially those of disarmament and arms regulation. It was established in 1966 to commemorate Sweden's 150 years of unbroken peace. The Institute is financed by the Swedish Parliament. The staff, the Governing Board and the Scientific Council are international. As a consultative body, the Scientific Council is not responsible for the views expressed in the publications of the Institute. Governing Board Dr Rolf Bjornerstedt, Chairman (Sweden) Professor Robert Neild, Vice-Chairman (United Kingdom) Mr Tim Greve (Norway) Academician Ivan M£ilek (Czechoslovakia) Professor Leo Mates (Yugoslavia) Professor
  • French Thought and the American Military Mind:A History Of

    French Thought and the American Military Mind:A History Of

    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 French Thought and the American Military Mind: A History of French Influence on the American Way of Warfare from 1814 Through 1941 Michael A. Bonura Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES FRENCH THOUGHT AND THE AMERICAN MILITARY MIND: A HISTORY OF FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE AMERICAN WAY OF WARFARE FROM 1814 THROUGH 1941 BY MICHAEL ANDREW BONURA A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester 2008 Copyright © 2008 Michael Andrew Bonura All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Michael Andrew Bonura defended on August 6, 2008. ____________________________ Frederick R. Davis Professor Directing Dissertation ____________________________ J. Anthony Stallins Outside Committee Member ____________________________ James P. Jones Committee Member ____________________________ Jonathan Grant Committee Member ____________________________ Darrin M. McMahon Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As everyone knows, a project of this size is the product of more than a single person, and many have helped me along the way. First and foremost I would like to thank Dr. Frederick R. Davis, my major professor, who agreed to take me on as a student after the retirement of Dr. Donald Horward. Dr. Davis took an early interest in my development as a Historian and continued to encourage my work and study in the Historian’s craft, even by letting me audit his Historical Methods course.
  • The French Military During 1870

    The French Military During 1870

    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 1964 The rF ench military during 1870,: in light of the tradition and strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte. Robert Fernand Forest University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Forest, Robert Fernand, "The rF ench military during 1870,: in light of the tradition and strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte." (1964). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 1519. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/1519 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FIVE COLLEGE DEPOSITORY THE FRENCH MILITARY DURING 1870 IN LIGHT OF THE TRADITION AND STRiVTEGY OF NAPOLEON 30NAPi\RTE by Robert F. Forest B.S.E. Westfield State College M.Ed. University of Massachusetts Thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. University of Massachusetts, Amherst May, 1964 In the preparation of this paper, I am indebted to my wife, Barbara, for her patience and assistance and to Paul A, Gagnon, whose guidance and suggestions were indispensable for the completion of this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. NAPOLEONIC ARMIES ... ' • »••• 3 III. CHANGES FROM NaPOLEON I TO 1870 13 Changes in Prussia 13 Material and Technological Developments ....oo,. •••• 20 Changes in French Military Doctrine Before 1851 26 Changes During the Second Empire , 32 IV.
  • Using History and Student-Led Discussion Groups to Explore the Nature of Military Service

    Using History and Student-Led Discussion Groups to Explore the Nature of Military Service

    Dialogues on the Experience of War: Using History and Student-Led Discussion Groups to Explore the Nature of Military Service Frederick H. Dotolo III St. John Fisher College BECAUSE THE UNITED STATES MILITARY is likely to continue its increased operational tempo for the foreseeable future, the number of servicemembers who will leave the armed forces to pursue academic degrees will also continue at record levels. According to one study, “Two million veterans are poised to enter higher education.”1 Many of these arriving student veterans will have had multiple overseas and/or combat deployments during their enlistments. On average, they will arrive on campuses having life experiences markedly different from those of their civilian counterparts. Student veterans are likely to be more mature, focused on quickly finishing their academic programs—overwhelmingly in the professional disciplines—and unlikely to fully engage the larger college community than are civilian students.2 The bifurcation between veterans and civilians is mirrored in general society as well. Because of the nature of the wars we are fighting with an all-volunteer professional military, the effects of warfighting and deployments are felt on servicemembers and their immediate families. As retired Lieutenant General David Barno and Dr. Nora The History Teacher Volume 54 Number 2 February 2021 © Society for History Education 358 Frederick H. Dotolo III Bensahel observe, “Starting a meaningful conservation with these veterans of our current wars remains extraordinarily difficult for the vast majority of Americans who have no association with the military.”3 Undoubtedly, the long-term effects of this alienation is detrimental to our society, but, fortunately, the arrival of student veterans also presents an opportunity to bridge this gap.
  • Formulář Inovovaného Předmětu

    Formulář Inovovaného Předmětu

    Course: HISTORY AND TRADITION OF THE ARMY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Author: Aleš Binar, Ph.D. Contents First Czechoslovak Resistance 1914 to 1918 ....................................................................................... 5 Czech Compatriots in Russia ........................................................................................................... 6 Czech Company 1914 ...................................................................................................................... 6 Czech and Slovak Compatriots in Western...................................................................................... 7 Company Nazdar! 1914 ................................................................................................................... 7 Battle of Arras 1915 ......................................................................................................................... 7 Czech Brigade 1916 ......................................................................................................................... 8 Battle of Zborov 1917 ...................................................................................................................... 9 Reception of Battle of Zborov ....................................................................................................... 10 Czech National Council 1916 to 1918 ............................................................................................ 10 Czechoslovak Army in Russia ........................................................................................................
  • THE CITIZEN ARMY of OLD REGIME FRANCE Julia Osman A

    THE CITIZEN ARMY of OLD REGIME FRANCE Julia Osman A

    THE CITIZEN ARMY OF OLD REGIME FRANCE Julia Osman A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved By: Jay M. Smith Lloyd Kramer Wayne Lee Richard Kohn Christopher Browning ©2010 Julia Osman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Julia Osman, The Citizen Army of Old Regime France (Under the Direction of Jay M. Smith) While the creation of the French citizen army is often attributed to the French Revolution, I argue that it is a product of the old regime. In the seventeenth century, France’s aristocratic army began to crumble when Louis XIV first created a military bureaucracy that eventually ceased to effectively regulate army matters. During the Seven Years’ War in the mid-eighteenth century, French officers’ apathetic attitudes towards fighting in Canada proved that French warfare had become only a vehicle for noble advancement. In the context of crisis and reform that followed, both educated society and military circles looked to the citizen armies of ancient Greece and Rome for military inspiration. French representations of the army and militias of the American Revolution as contemporary embodiments of ancient citizen armies supported reformers’ belief that patriotism would revitalize the French army. In 1789, the National Guard institutionalized these ideas, making the French citizen army a forerunner of the French Revolution. iii To Mom and Dad iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For all the hem and haw about the solitude of a scholarly life, this dissertation is the result of many hands and many resources.
  • Collusion, Counterinsurgency and Colonialism: the Imperial Roots of Contemporary State Violence Mark Mcgovern

    Collusion, Counterinsurgency and Colonialism: the Imperial Roots of Contemporary State Violence Mark Mcgovern

    Collusion, Counterinsurgency and Colonialism: The Imperial Roots of Contemporary State Violence Mark McGovern Abstract: This article examines the nature of collusion between the British state and paramilitary organisations during the conflict in Northern Ireland in the context of British counterinsurgency theory and practices in colonial campaigns. To do so it will briefly outline the pattern and logic of collusion in Northern Ireland before examining some of the key works in the tradition of British counterinsurgency theorists reflecting on earlier imperial practices. Collusion will be understood as an expedient coercive state practice, premised on a ‘doctrine of necessity’, designed to remove ‘enemies’ and induce fear in a target population via a strategy of assassination in which the appearance of adherence to the rule of law is a political end shaping the specific forms of state violence involved. Such a practice, it will be argued, is not an aberration in the tradition of British state counterinsurgency violence, it is exemplary. Keywords: Collusion, Counterinsurgency, Imperialism, State Violence, Northern Ireland Introduction: Collusion and Conflict in the North of Ireland Despite its considerable failings the 2012 release of the de Silva report into the loyalist killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane in his Belfast home in 1989 confirmed one thing beyond any doubt; collusion between British military intelligence and RUC Special Branch with loyalist paramilitaries during the conflict in the North of Ireland was widespread, institutionalised and strategic in nature. While long suspected, the true scale of such collusion was still something of a shock; not least the astonishing revelation that over 85% of all the intelligence held by loyalists in the late 1980s and used in the planning of an escalating campaign of sectarian killing and targeted assassinations originated from state intelligence sources.1 Indeed, this may well be an underestimation.
  • The Evolution of Strategy

    The Evolution of Strategy

    This page intentionally left blank The Evolution of Strategy Is there a ‘Western way of war’ which pursues battles of annihilation and single-minded military victory? Is warfare on a path to ever greater destructive force? This magisterial new account answers these questions by tracing the history of Western thinking about strategy – the employ- ment of military force as a political instrument – from antiquity to the present day. Assessing sources from Vegetius to contemporary America, and with a particular focus on strategy since the Napoleonic Wars, Beatrice Heuser explores the evolution of strategic thought, the social institutions, norms and patterns of behaviour within which it operates, the policies that guide it and the culture that influences it. Ranging across technology and warfare, total warfare and small wars as well as land, sea, air and nuclear warfare, she demonstrates that warfare and strategic thinking have fluctuated wildly in their aims, intensity, limitations and excesses over the past two millennia. beatrice heuser holds the Chair of International History at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading. Her publications include Reading Clausewitz (2002); Nuclear Mentalities? (1998) and Nuclear Strategies and Forces for Europe, 1949-2000 (1997), both on nuclear issues in NATO as a whole, and Britain, France, and Germany in particular. The Evolution of Strategy Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present Beatrice Heuser cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521155243 © Beatrice Heuser 2010 This publication is in copyright.
  • American Military History: a Resource for Teachers and Students

    American Military History: a Resource for Teachers and Students

    AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY A RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS PAUL HERBERT & MICHAEL P. NOONAN, EDITORS WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY WALTER A. MCDOUGALL AUGUST 2013 American Military History: A Resource for Teachers and Students Edited by Colonel (ret.) Paul H. Herbert, Ph.D. & Michael P. Noonan, Ph.D. August 2013 About the Foreign Policy Research Institute Founded in 1955 by Ambassador Robert Strausz-Hupé, FPRI is a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. In the tradition of Strausz-Hupé, FPRI embraces history and geography to illuminate foreign policy challenges facing the United States. In 1990, FPRI established the Wachman Center, and subsequently the Butcher History Institute, to foster civic and international literacy in the community and in the classroom. About First Division Museum at Cantigny Located in Wheaton, Illinois, the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park preserves, interprets and presents the history of the United States Army’s 1st Infantry Division from 1917 to the present in the context of American military history. Part of Chicago’s Robert R. McCormick Foundation, the museum carries on the educational legacy of Colonel McCormick, who served as a citizen soldier in the First Division in World War I. In addition to its main galleries and rich holdings, the museum hosts many educational programs and events and has published over a dozen books in support of its mission. FPRI’s Madeleine & W.W. Keen Butcher History Institute Since 1996, the centerpiece of FPRI’s educational programming has been our series of weekend-long conferences for teachers, chaired by David Eisenhower and Walter A.
  • Won't Get Fooled Again: America's Strategic

    Won't Get Fooled Again: America's Strategic

    WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN: AMERICA’S STRATEGIC SHORTCOMINGS IN IRREGULAR WARFARE by Troy H. Thomas A thesis submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters of Government Baltimore, Maryland August 2020 Abstract How does America improve its Irregular Warfare (IW) capability? Academia defines IW as encompassing insurgency and terrorism. It is used to counter and defeat Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) such as Al Qaeda (AQ) and the Islamic State. 2018 saw 9,600 terrorist attacks and 49 of the 52 conflicts tracked by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program were non-state against state actors.1 IW remains an immediate ongoing concern for America. This paper is a historical evaluative dissertation. Chapter one addresses the difficult task of studying IW and the differing definitions of IW (or lack of same) and their history. It addresses the American military’s relationship with the concept historically and its current status. It includes a discussion of how this affects the Special Operations Forces (SOF) that are the primary practitioners of IW for the American military. Chapter two discusses VEOs, one of the five major threats outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS). Case studies assess how terrorists and insurgents seek to shape public opinion. The first is a classic insurgency campaign, the Algerian Revolution and the second 1 Barnett S. Koven, Re-evaluating Special Operations Forces-led Counterterrorism Efforts, (Tampa: Joint Special Operations University, 2019), 1. ii covers the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) ground-breaking terror campaign. There is also a discussion of ideology and strategy.
  • Chapter 2 Understanding Insurgency And

    Chapter 2 Understanding Insurgency And

    Lowy Institute Paper 28 confronting the hydra BIG PROBLEMS WITH SMALL WARS Mark O'Neill First published for Lowy Institute for International Policy 2009 Mark O’Neill was the inaugural Chief of Army Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Mark is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army with PO Box 102 Double Bay New South Wales 1360 Australia 25 years service. He has had operational service in Somalia, www.longmedia.com.au Mozambique and Iraq, where he was Senior Advisor at the [email protected] Multi-National Force Iraq’s Counterinsurgency Center for Tel. (+61 2) 9362 8441 Excellence. Lowy Institute for International Policy © 2009 ABN 40 102 792 174 Mark has worked on counterinsurgency issues with the Australian, US, British, South African and Iraqi Armies; All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part including fieldwork and teaching about counterinsurgency of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including but not limited to electronic, from the small team to Corps Headquarters level. During mechanical, photocopying, or recording), without the prior written permission of the 2007 and 2008, he was a member of the editorial panel copyright owner. that produced the Australian Army’s counterinsurgency doctrine. Cover design by Longueville Media/Nina Nielsen Typeset by Longueville Media in Esprit Book 10/13 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: O'Neill, Mark. Title: Confronting the hydra : big problems with small wars / Mark O'Neill. Edition: 1st ed.