Sunday, April 10, 2016

Is The U.S. Capable Of Waging War In A Megacity?

Urban warfare is often among the most hard-fought. Syrian army soldiers inspect the site of a two bomb blasts in the government-controlled city of Homs, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 21, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters

Chad Serena and Colin Clarke, Reuters: A new kind of battlefield awaits the U.S. military – megacities

The nearly five-year civil war in Syria has exposed some of the difficulties that military forces have conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance against terrorists and insurgents in crowded urban environments. These challenges, while not insurmountable, will continue to plague even the most advanced military forces, including the United States, as migration out of rural areas and into cities continues unabated.

For the foreseeable future, deterring and countering near-peer adversaries such as Russia and China will undoubtedly remain at the forefront of American grand strategy. But in addition to meeting the challenges associated with traditional and well-known state-based threats, the U.S. military will be expected to combat an array of violent non-state actors — a blanket term that includes well-established groups like Islamic State, al Qaeda and the transnational criminal gang MS-13 but also countless other and less well-known militias, insurgent groups and terrorist organizations.

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WNU Editor: Under current rules of engagement .... where U.S. forces must refrain from causing civilian casualties .... I fail to see how the U.S. can be effective in any heavily populated urban environment.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

"And *then* what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they're not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead." - Jim Malone "The Untouchables"

The Russians attacked Berlin. they were slaughtered in the street fighting. Their tanks were blasted to pieces.


Then they changed tactics. They shot up each block before advancing. It is what they had to do against ambushes by dug in anti-tank guns and panzerfausts.

I certainly blame the Red Army for their mass rape which was encourage by propaganda, but I do not begrudge them their tactics in staying alive in Berlin.

Certainly American politicians can kill many grunts and marines from the safety of the Beltway.

Não é

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZ6eaL3S2E

Jay Farquharson said...

It all depends on what the " War" is.

Nation to Nation "total war" sans nukes,

Or an "insurgency".

1500 ISIS fighters took Ramadi, ( with the assistence of the local tribes, inside and out of the City). In "taking back" Ramadi, the population had long fled, the Anbar tribes were no longer supporting ISIS, and the "city" was "held" by only a token force, yet the City was destroyed.