Security and International Relations

THE IRAQ WAR: THE COMPLEXITY OF A HYBRID WARFARE Marian BĂICOIANU “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, Sibiu [email protected] Scientific coordinator: LTC Assoc.Prof. Aurelian RAŢIU, PhD Abstract: The modern era illustrates a new image of conflicts and wars.Given that the globalization phenomenon has rapidly expanded, military operations are multidimensional and carried out successively or simultaneously in order to achieve expected effects. The war was reconfigured in terms of the existence of hybrid threats.This article aims to identify the hybrid characteristics of the Iraq war, through a case study. Following the analysis, we identified various tactics, methods and means adopted by the Iraqi forces and specific to a hybrid war. The coalition troops faced a combination of symmetrical and asymmetrical fights initiated by the enemy. In the context of multiple existing threats, we highlighted how the operational environment becomes more complex and dynamic.Identifying and managing the hybrid aspects of the Iraq war is a necessary and priority condition for developing viable solutions to new types of hybrid threats, as well as their application in future armed conflicts. Keywords: hybrid warfare, Iraq war, hybrid threats, terorrism; Introduction Over time, there has been a significant evolution in the military environment, both in terms of the strategies used and in terms of the means selected to achieve the objectives. Regardless of the methods or tools used during the conduct of military actions, past experience has demonstrated to the present society the destructive nature of war. This is an absolutely necessary instrument to achieve certain interests and goals, but it must be mentioned that war is an exclusively social phenomenon with military and political tendencies in its evolution. Nowadays, more and more analysts and theorists are talking about the war of the future, other than the classical, conventional one. If the classic war had the primary purpose of defeating, destroying all the enemy's military power, the war of the future aims at destroying the enemy through indirect attacks, through specific procedures such as: guerrilla warfare, psychological influence and intoxication of information systems on a high scale. The emergence and development of such a war was favored by the process of globalization. World states arm themselves with equipment and weapons systems of last generation. A major consequence of this phenomenon is the possibility of simultaneous outbreak of numerous armed conflicts between the forces and means well trained and organized. The massive development of technology imposed practically a new type of war, which is acting in a multidimensional space. 1 Hybrid warfare - conceptual boundaries Hybrid warfare is a new concept, which does not yet have a generally accepted definition, in the literature there are several perspectives. A comprehensive definition of hybrid warfare implies "the framework in which a state / non-state actor adopts the useing of the armed forces against another state or non-state actor, by simultaneously employing conventional and unconventional means of fighting, as well as by permanently adapting the means / instruments specific to the political, military, economic, social, informational or even diplomatic field, in order to achieve the political-military objectives proposed to be achieved ”[1]. Another definition found in the specialized literature defines hybrid warfare as "the simultaneous, adaptive and complex combination of conventional weapons, irregular tactics and terrorist acts, carried out by individuals or groups with high criminal behavior in a combat space, to achieve political goals”[2]. Author Frank Hoffman, who proposed the above definition, refers to the integration of all resources in order to obtain the best tactics and procedures for achieving the objectives. From the perspective of the cause-effect phenomenon, at the basis of the hybrid war lies the hybrid threats. From the point of view of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, hybrid threats are defined as "threats from any adversary, current or potential, including state actors, non-state actors or terrorist groups with proven or probable ability to simultaneously engage in achieving their goals. , both conventional and unconventional means”[3]. ]. Thus, the combination of these components is defined by a decentralized management, with no restrictions action, beyond the traditional means in an adaptive manner to achieve the goals. The term hybrid threats means the broad spectrum of conflicting circumstances such as: "cyber wars, scenarios of asymmetric conflicts, global terrorism, piracy, illegal migration, corruption, ethnic and religious conflicts, resource security, demographic, organized crime and the spread of the weapon of mass destruction”[4]. The main threat of an irregular warfarein present, is represented by terrorism. Terrorism involves the illegal use of violence or the threat of violence, often motivated by religious, political or other ideological beliefs, to instill fear and compel governments or societies to achieve the goals that are usually political[5]. Terrorism has a surprising character and is characterized by ferocity, assuming the use of acts of physical and / or mental violence, in order to establish a regime of fear and terror. Another unregulated threat that threatens the security of society at international level is insurgency. This represents "an organized movement aimed at the overthrow, undermine the state order, through the use of different actions, as well as the armed conflict”[6].The insurgency aims to reduce the political power, as well as the armed forces targeted, thus favoring the achievement of the set objectives. The resources available during the insurgency actions are limited and require a longer period of time, in order to cause damage to the opponents. In this way, it avoids armed confrontation and uses unconventional means to diminish adverse power, through propaganda, intimidation, as well as actions to diminish political power. Closely related to the insurgency, aimed at changing the political regime, gaining independence, approving some rights or other extremist ideas, is the guerrilla war. Guerrilla warfare also takes place over a long period of time, with limited resources, aiming to weaken opponents through raids, sabotages, attacks, which endanger local security, small groups infiltrating the population. According to NATO guerrilla warfare, they represent "military and paramilitary operations carried out in hostile territory or held by the enemy by irregular, predominantly indigenous forces”[7]. Under these conditions, the armed forces must be able to act regardless of the terrain and the situation in which the conflict takes place. Counter-warfare actions imply a high 2 degree of complexity and require the existence of a well-informed and trained leader, who will efficiently conduct the operation, in an independent manner. The operational environment can be severely affected by organized crime groups. This irregular threat endangers the level of stability of the operations carried out in the respective conflict area. Organized crime groups are groups of at least three persons who act in order to commit serious crimes, such as murder, harassment, threatening, smuggling, forgery of various goods, cyber frauds, as well as drug trafficking, weaponstrafficking or even human trafficking. to obtain a benefit, generally financially. In the current context of the operational environment, cyber space has become increasingly important, given that technology has reached an advanced level, where information is the basis of any military operation. Through the cyber space, fast communication is ensured, which promotes propaganda and manipulation actions, as well as the distortion and intoxication of information. This is a major tool for developing a hybrid war. Also, cyber space is a way to recruit, exploit and coordinate extremist forces, insurgency or guerrilla forces. Cyber-attacks "can influence the supply chain, strategic support, political decision- making, weapon systems, and try to undermine the ability to carry out operations in the execution of basic tasks”[8].To counter cyberattacks, as well as other hybrid warfare, it is necessary to permanently adapt the cyber security and objectively evaluate the threats from the cyber spectrum throughout the hybrid war. The hybrid characteristics of the wars in Iraq A. The First Persian Gulf War The modern era constitutes and illustrates a new image of conflicts and wars. Multidimensionality, complexity and dynamism are essential features of modern and current conflicts. The first conflict in the Persian Gulf area (August 2, 1990 - February 28, 1991) was a war between a coalition force, representing the United Nations and led by the United States, and the Iraqi state army under Saddam Hussein. The war was a consequence of Kuwait's annexation of the state. Following the analysis, we identified various tactics, methods and means adopted by the Iraqi forces and specific to a hybrid war. Iraqi troops have set fire to hundreds of oil wells on the border with Kuwait, used improvised and criminal means that spread terror and inhuman suffering, and used local authorities consisting of civilians and military without uniforms or insignia. Also, Saddam Hussein promoted and developed an extensive media campaign, asking all people to fight against the common invader. Another aspect of the hybrid approach

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