Counterinsurgents have raised and employed irregular security forces in many campaigns over the last century. Irregular security forces are indigenous forces, not part of the regular police or military organizations of the host nation, that are...
The British and US experience with the use of local, irregular security forces suggest their importance in assisting the host nation government and counterinsurgent forces. Their successful establishment, training, and employment demonstrate the...
Disrupting an insurgent's access to sanctuary and safe-haven is a critical aspect of operational planning for counterinsurgent forces. By denying an insurgent's access to safe-havens early in the conflict, the counterinsurgent will gain a marked...
From the end of the Vietnam War until Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States military did not engage in significant counterinsurgency (COIN) operations. The decline in the U.S military’s experience in this area is evident in the fidelity...
The objective of this monograph is to first, discern whether the lessons learned from historical cases can be used today, second, develop possible solutions for the operational problems of our most recent deployment into Haiti by considering the...
This monograph discusses the importance of base development to operational sustainment and the role that Army engineers will play in modern corps-level contingency operations. Base development in an austere theater will be a complex task that will...
There is a long historical precedent of great powers utilizing surrogate forces as an economy of force measure in the pursuit of their objectives. The lessons learned during the ideological brush fire conflicts of the Cold War are relevant to the...
This monograph addresses the suitability of Bedouin tribes for recruitment and employment as irregular forces. The study is motivated by force shortfalls and resource constraints in U.S. contingency planning for Southwest Asia and the Arabian...
This monograph examines the dynamic tension between operational sustainment planning and operational design. Operational planners must fully consider both the limitations and possibilities of operational sustainment and its inherent risks when...
The monograph analyses the origins of the use of violence in the name of religion by the Salafist movement in Europe in order to enable identification of key characteristics to shape national strategies of prevention that are appropriate for...
Does third party military intervention help or hurt an incumbent government during an insurgency? This study attempts to answer this question by testing prevailing military theories of counterinsurgency in the context of third party intervention...
The interaction between politics and military professionalism is a delicate balancing act in war. When the politics involves a revolutionary ideology, military professionalism can be subordinated to the point of hurting the war effort. The Iranian...
This thesis examines the intent of Iran's sea power strategy, and discovers that it is a definitive component of a coherent national security strategy of strategic deterrence designed to protect its strategic center of gravity--its oil....
This study examines the role that military forces in less developed countries can play in nation building. It analyses the nation building contributions of the armed forces of Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Venezuela in their...
History has witnessed numerous examples of cross border insurgencies where the insurgents have operated across international borders: in the 1950s in Algeria, the 1960s and 1970s in Oman, the 1980s in Afghanistan and Kosovo in the 1990s. Presently,...
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 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...
At the core of U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine is the concept of “hearts and minds.” Although the concept has significantly deviated from its historical grounding and has become a nebulous concept that is frequently maligned, misunderstood, and...
The purpose of this research was to obtain a historically rooted understanding of the development, application, and adaptation of the British COIN approach--one from which the US has borrowed heavily. It focuses upon those factors which interfere...
This thesis contends the debate on whether to embrace a population-centric or enemy-centric counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan detracts focus from building a balanced approach, customized for the human and political landscape in each area of...