Throughout history, war has been part and parcel of life. From the Servile War in the BC era to modern engagements in different war theaters, the world has seen a change of conflict strategy and weaponry. War tacticians often like to classify insurgencies as being among the most difficult types of conflict to contain. This article looks at counter insurgency history, mostly from an American standpoint.
There are different types of insurgencies. Today, the most common ones are guerilla warfare and terrorism. Most terror related wars are fought out in urban or semi urban environments. On the other hand, guerilla warfare mostly takes place in jungles and rural areas. Both types are mostly perpetrated by non state belligerents. Counterinsurgency is a phrase coined to refer to attempts to crush insurgencies or mitigate their effects.
Nowadays, such warfare is concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. The most dominant groups in these regions are ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and rebel movements that are intent on overthrowing governments. Not so long ago, the most dominant insurgent organization in Latin America was the FARC guerilla group. Thankfully, it signed a peace pact with the government of Colombia recently, bringing an age old conflict that had worn out the populace to an end.
Regardless of where most insurgencies emanate from, one truth is that the US army has been involved in counterinsurgency in most of them. Take the case of the Afghan Taliban insurgency, one that the US has countered for decades. Another one to include in the list is the international war on terror.
Insurgency type conflict is not simply confined to the years that followed the new millennium. In the 1960s, America was involved in a bloody battle to eliminate communist fighters who were hell bent on toppling the capitalist Vietnamese regime. It is not generally known who won the Vietnam War, but many pundits have awarded the US a pyrrhic victory. During the same period, America was intent on toppling the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba and funded a militia to fight the Cubans on its behalf.
The operation, which was later billed the Bay of Pigs invasion, was a total loss for the US. The Cuban authorities were well aware of the planned invasion, and had thus mounted proper defenses to counter it. Historians like to bill it as one of the worst disasters in American military and foreign policy history.
In general, there are three broad objectives of launching a counterinsurgency. These objectives are to achieve economic and political stability as well as security. In a sense, it is aimed at returning all the facets of life back to normal. During a period of conflict, the local economy is bound to suffer, political instability is certain and the safety of the civilian population is at risk.
Many authors have written works that are aimed at demystifying this type of conflict. Some of them postulate that as long as the reasons for an insurgency are genuine, it is bound to succeed. Only time will tell if this is true.
There are different types of insurgencies. Today, the most common ones are guerilla warfare and terrorism. Most terror related wars are fought out in urban or semi urban environments. On the other hand, guerilla warfare mostly takes place in jungles and rural areas. Both types are mostly perpetrated by non state belligerents. Counterinsurgency is a phrase coined to refer to attempts to crush insurgencies or mitigate their effects.
Nowadays, such warfare is concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. The most dominant groups in these regions are ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and rebel movements that are intent on overthrowing governments. Not so long ago, the most dominant insurgent organization in Latin America was the FARC guerilla group. Thankfully, it signed a peace pact with the government of Colombia recently, bringing an age old conflict that had worn out the populace to an end.
Regardless of where most insurgencies emanate from, one truth is that the US army has been involved in counterinsurgency in most of them. Take the case of the Afghan Taliban insurgency, one that the US has countered for decades. Another one to include in the list is the international war on terror.
Insurgency type conflict is not simply confined to the years that followed the new millennium. In the 1960s, America was involved in a bloody battle to eliminate communist fighters who were hell bent on toppling the capitalist Vietnamese regime. It is not generally known who won the Vietnam War, but many pundits have awarded the US a pyrrhic victory. During the same period, America was intent on toppling the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba and funded a militia to fight the Cubans on its behalf.
The operation, which was later billed the Bay of Pigs invasion, was a total loss for the US. The Cuban authorities were well aware of the planned invasion, and had thus mounted proper defenses to counter it. Historians like to bill it as one of the worst disasters in American military and foreign policy history.
In general, there are three broad objectives of launching a counterinsurgency. These objectives are to achieve economic and political stability as well as security. In a sense, it is aimed at returning all the facets of life back to normal. During a period of conflict, the local economy is bound to suffer, political instability is certain and the safety of the civilian population is at risk.
Many authors have written works that are aimed at demystifying this type of conflict. Some of them postulate that as long as the reasons for an insurgency are genuine, it is bound to succeed. Only time will tell if this is true.
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