Winning Hearts and Minds: The Key to Defeating an Insurgency

Abstract

As America leads the fight against world terrorism our success on the nontraditional battle field rests with the Soldier with boots on the ground. Leaders at all levels, from the policy makers in Washington down to the squad leader, must have an understanding of the history and culture of the enemy and the local population. Without and understanding of history and culture winning the hearts and minds of the locals will lead to conflict and loss of support and eventual defeat by the insurgents. The Philippine War and Vietnam conflict provide excellent examples of what happens when leaders fail to take into consideration the culture and history of the enemy and local population.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2003
Accession Number
AD1111225

Entities

People

  • Robert D. Bousley

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Civilian Population
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • History
  • Insurgency
  • Language
  • Lessons Learned
  • Middle East
  • Military Commanders
  • Military History
  • North Vietnam
  • South Vietnam
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Vietnam
  • Vietnam War
  • War

Fields of Study

  • Sociology

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.