Current Army doctrine lacks a security metrics paradigm similar to the infrastructure paradigm SWEAT-MSO. Because of this, commanders, staff, subordinates, other government leaders, and the media lack a simple and common set of terms to use when...
The events of September 11, 2001, catapulted America’s military into two wars with others looming on the horizon. The type of warfare they are conducting is far different from what they had trained for the last quarter of a century. The enemy...
The opium trade is a major funding source for the insurgency in Afghanistan. The Afghan counter-narcotics law enforcement agencies continue to target drug traffickers with counterdrug missions in order to break the funding source of the insurgents....
Lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past ten years indicate that the Army is fighting in an environment that requires a change in how organizations gather, analyze, synthesize, and produce intelligence. "Top-down"...
The U.S. has vast historical experience in insurgent-counterinsurgent wars. However, the root causes of insurgencies, and critical factors and strategies that have led to success or failure in the outcome of these conflicts, continues to be...
Counterinsurgency is in the eye of the beholder. The American Revolution, with all its implications of freedom, liberty, and independence, was actually a counterinsurgency conducted by a minority of the colonists against a sovereign government. Our...
Insurgency and counterinsurgencies differ from conventional warfare in that military strength alone cannot bring success. Insurgencies are "people's wars" as the insurgent forces are dependent on the population for manpower, intelligence,...
The United States has conducted or supported more than a dozen counterinsurgencies in the 20th century. The emerging strategic environment indicates that the US will be involved with counterinsurgencies in the future and there appears to exist...
Staying the course until success is a major obstacle with military social engineering endeavors occurring after a military victory. American politics vying for popular support consistently withdraw societal and security support prematurely....
Two previous peacekeeping efforts in Beirut and Somalia, decades apart, progressed into acts of terrorism and irregular warfare. In both conflicts, United States withdrew troops after many costly errors. Another decade later, United States is...
For approximately the past ten years, the Army has been engaged in large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. These campaigns have forced the Army to reevaluate how it approaches its role in advising host nation forces. This...
This paper will examine two separate conflicts of United Sates Military insurgences outside the official state of an act of war. The first will be the Philippine insurrection of 1899-1901, and the second the Vietnam Operation at Cedar Falls on...
The need for a Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft in counterinsurgency (COIN) is a topic that will often be debated as the conflict in Afghanistan continues and the United States Air Force (USAF) looks at how it can use airpower to...
The most respected theorists of counterinsurgency agree about prescriptive principles for the organization of counterinsurgency campaigns. Insurgencies and counterinsurgency campaigns are each unique (sui generis), yet the theorists help provide...
This study uses a comparative analysis of the Malayan Emergency, the American experience in Vietnam, and Operation Iraqi Freedom to examine the role and effectiveness of artillery units in complex counterinsurgency environments. Through this...
Health system reconstruction and development in developing countries is difficult under the best of conditions. In counterinsurgency environments, it is even more complex and challenging. U.S. military and civilian organizations involved in Afghan...
This monograph departs from the premise that the US Army's counterinsurgent doctrine is radically different than its conventional doctrine. The monograph suggests that the doctrines and tactics used by an army to prosecute war must be congruent...
Recent scholarly work has devoted much attention to analyzing the French counterinsurgency war in Algeria from 1954 to 1962. The United States military has taken many of the lessons and principles offered by authors such as David Galula and Roger...
The United States could have shortened the war or changed the outcome by adopting Trinquier’s principles in Vietnam. The French reacted rapidly and separated the guerrilla from the population. The United States moved the population to strategic...
This thesis seeks to illustrate both the benefits and limitations associated with using road building in COIN campaigns in South Asia, as well as highlight factors that should be considered from planning through long-term use. When employed in a...