ROE - Are We Falling Victim to the Enemy's Effects-Based Operations?
Abstract
As the United States struggles to achieve its political goals during the post-conflict phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), it continues to be frustrated by fast-moving paramilitary groups, often indistinguishable from civilians, who ambush and harass allied units. These fighters have caused far more allied casualties than have been inflicted by regular Iraqi units. They also have led U.S. troops to fire at civilian targets, occasionally with tragic results. Clearly, the Iraqi insurgents threaten the campaign's political objective, which is "winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people." There has been a growing argument over the means the military should use to gain the trust of the Iraqi people ever since major combat operations ceased. One suggestion is that restraint may the key to winning the support of the Iraqi people. Without their support, the prospect of a long and drawn out insurgency is likely. And while winning hearts and minds is central to achieving U.S. political goals in Iraq, edgy U.S. soldiers are resorting with distressing speed to lethal force. Even when they have a good reason to shoot, soldiers sometimes respond in an excessive and indiscriminate way that puts civilians unnecessarily at risk. Surely, aggressiveness at the tactical level has proven effective in reducing the number of U.S. casualties, but has this same aggressiveness played into the enemy's strategy by increasing civilian deaths? By acknowledging the effectiveness of the insurgent's effects-based operations (EBO), it is clear that U.S. Rules of Engagement (ROE) being employed in post-conflict operations in Iraq require significant changes to preclude inadvertently conferring advantages upon the enemy. Civilian casualties produce the effects that the insurgents use to reach their three audiences: The Government, including the Coalition Provincial Authority and the local Iraqi governing councils, the uncommitted Iraqi populace, and international public opinion. (27 refs7
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 09, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA422829
Entities
People
- Mark D. Horowitz
Organizations
- Naval War College