Winning Insurgent War : Back to Basics

All warfare is influenced by topology, but to best comprehend some conflicts, we need to look closely at the interrelationships of people with their surroundings. Insurgencies are generally determined by the same geophysical and psychological factors as maneuver wars. As stressed in this book, all conflicts have chartable and controllable profiles within the scope of long-standing principles. In that light, many constants in the dynamics of insurgency can be rendered in vivid color and detail, much like a 19th Century landscape. In this panoramic view, Justice and Liberty are held hostage by sinister actors—control over events and power bypass questions of legitimacy (or rule of law), defaulting to whomever acts with orchestrated impunity. Consequently, the key investigative challenge in preparing for effective action and winning the peace reasonably starts with illuminating the hidden identities and interests of shadowy, but evident, perpetrators. Accordingly, an analytic specter resembling the private eye Sherlock Holmes reflects on the literal and metaphoric guises which might be found in a conflictive landscape of this sort, or in a monograph about such a dangerous domain. The game is afoot. Ominous threats either hang dangerously like the sword of Damocles or aggressively advance—sometimes punctuating the countryside as surprising, limb-wrenching detonations. Past sins leave quiet evidence within jungle darkness, or insidiously shape essential cultural dynamics. Always aided by carelessness, human error, and illicit commerce, insurgencies more often than not endanger the innocent. Insurgency might not always be bad or endemic, but as depicted, they can be won.