Comparison of the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War and Application of Lessons to Solve El Salvador Problems and Appropriate U.S. Military Assistance

Abstract

The author compares the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War in order to apply some lessons from the conflicts that may be of significance in solving the current problems facing El Salvador. Both authorities, Malaya and Vietnam, recognized that the center of gravity in the conflicts was the separation of the population from communist guerrilla's influence, and thus developed a strategy based on this perception. Due to huge differences in historical, political and social background and the means that were applied to achieve the objective, and the different timeframes the conflict took place, the outcome of the strategy was a success in Malaya and a failure in Vietnam. The author strongly feels that the strategy remains viable and continue to apply that in El Salvador but modifies the concept of operations to meet the means available and also recognizing the period of human rights.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 22, 1987
Accession Number
ADA182811

Entities

People

  • Shari B. Ahmad

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Center Of Gravity
  • Classification
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Communism
  • Control Systems
  • El Salvador
  • Governments
  • Insurgency
  • Military Assistance
  • Psychological Operations
  • Security
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Vietnam War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Battery Technology and Engineering
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies