The Ethics Of Counterinsurgency -- A Commentary

US troops on patrol (U.S. Army)

From The New Atlantis:

The term “irregular warfare” has become a catch-all label for those forms of warfare that are neither conventional (that is, involving the land, sea, and air forces of belligerent states using traditional tactics) nor nuclear. It applies to both insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare; it also applies to counter-terrorist and “direct action” missions of special forces and to stabilization, training, and reconstruction operations. The U.S. military efforts today in Iraq and Afghanistan are decidedly examples of irregular warfare; so was much of the Vietnam War. And it is likely that the United States will be involved in more irregular conflicts in the years ahead. As the most recent iteration of the U.S. National Defense Strategy puts it:

U.S. dominance in conventional warfare has given prospective adversaries, particularly non-state actors and their state sponsors, strong motivation to adopt asymmetric methods to counter our advantages. For this reason, we must display a mastery of irregular warfare comparable to that which we possess in conventional combat.

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My Comment: This is a long and comprehensive article on the topic of counterinsurgency warfare, but it is a must read for those who are interested and focused on this topic.

Brew a cup of coffee, and take the time to read this work by Keith Pavlischek .... you will not be disappointed.