Force Asymmetry in Low Intensity Conflict or How to Beat the Enemy at His Own Game.

Abstract

The U.S. military will most likely be involved in numerous MOOTW and low intensity conflicts in the coming years. The operational commander will have to design an operational plan to counter smaller, weaker forces (relative to U.S. power) that posses the military and political advantage of fighting in their country, among their own people. To operate successfully, the weaker force will must subscribe to specific principles of war that have been successfully used by insurgents guerrillas in many low intensity conflicts. This paper analyzes these principles and proposes an operational strategy for the operational commander to counter the unique, deadly strategy of the insurgent. The Boer War between Great Britain and the South Africa republics of 1899-1902 and the Insurgent movement in China led by Mao Tse-Tung are used as examples of successful insurgent movements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 20, 1996
Accession Number
ADA312545

Entities

People

  • Laurence L. Mccabe

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Africa
  • Asymmetry
  • Battles
  • Civilian Population
  • Cold War
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Low Intensity Conflict
  • Military Commanders
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Security
  • South Africa
  • United States
  • Universities
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies