Hezbollah: Operational Art in Fourth Generation Warfare
Abstract
Fourth generation warfare, or irregular warfare involving nonstate actors, is becoming the new threat upon which the study of operational art should be applied. By applying the design elements from Joint Publication 3-0 to both Hezbollah and Israel in the Second Lebanon War, a real world case study can be made to these tenets. This paper starts with an examination of Hezbollah and the events precipitating the capture of the two Israeli reservists to find the motivation for their actions. By looking at their potential strategic objectives and desired end-state, a regressive analysis will be applied to this nonstate actor to support an operational planning construct. A select number of operational design elements will then be applied to an analysis of Hezbollah's actions. This same methodology will also be focused on Israel's response to this nonstate threat. At this snapshot in time, a conclusion will be derived as to whether the conventional forces of Israel or the irregular militia of Hezbollah has better applied operational art through these design elements. Finally, lessons learned will be derived for future operations involving both traditional and fourth generation warfare threats.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 23, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA463338
Entities
People
- Ryan T. Carron
Organizations
- Naval War College