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.
Insurgencies come in various types. Nowadays, the most practiced ones are guerilla conflict and terrorism. Most terror related wars are carried out in urban and semi urban settings. In comparison, guerilla warfare is often based in rural places and dense jungles. The key instigators of these kinds of conflicts are often not affiliated to governments. The term counterinsurgency is used to denote the act of responding to an insurgency with the aim of stopping it or controlling its 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.
One aspect that has been noticeable with insurgencies across the globe is that the fact that America has been involved in mitigating many of them. Consider the example of the Taliban led insurgency in Afghanistan, one that the US has long been known to be embroiled in. The global war on terror is another case.
Insurgencies are not only confined to the post 2000 years. At the turn of the 1960s, America got embroiled in a bloody conflict to eliminate communist insurgents out to topple the Vietnamese government. The outcome of the Vietnam War has been disputed for a long time, with many experts labeling the US as pyrrhic victors. During the years that soon followed, the US government funded a militia group with the aim of having it topple the communist Fidel Castro regime in Cuba.
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.
There are many authors whose literary works debunk the myths that normally surround counterinsurgency. Some opine that as long as an insurgent group has genuine reasons for its actions, it is poised to succeed. Only time will ascertain the veracity of this hypothesis.
Insurgencies come in various types. Nowadays, the most practiced ones are guerilla conflict and terrorism. Most terror related wars are carried out in urban and semi urban settings. In comparison, guerilla warfare is often based in rural places and dense jungles. The key instigators of these kinds of conflicts are often not affiliated to governments. The term counterinsurgency is used to denote the act of responding to an insurgency with the aim of stopping it or controlling its 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.
One aspect that has been noticeable with insurgencies across the globe is that the fact that America has been involved in mitigating many of them. Consider the example of the Taliban led insurgency in Afghanistan, one that the US has long been known to be embroiled in. The global war on terror is another case.
Insurgencies are not only confined to the post 2000 years. At the turn of the 1960s, America got embroiled in a bloody conflict to eliminate communist insurgents out to topple the Vietnamese government. The outcome of the Vietnam War has been disputed for a long time, with many experts labeling the US as pyrrhic victors. During the years that soon followed, the US government funded a militia group with the aim of having it topple the communist Fidel Castro regime in Cuba.
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.
There are many authors whose literary works debunk the myths that normally surround counterinsurgency. Some opine that as long as an insurgent group has genuine reasons for its actions, it is poised to succeed. Only time will ascertain the veracity of this hypothesis.
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