Sanctuaries: A Strategic Reality, an Operational Challenge
Abstract
Sanctuaries are a strategic reality and an operational challenge today more than ever. Sanctuaries, or "safe havens," exist in all regions and mediums to include outer space and cyberspace. Sanctuary, that is to say a secure base area within which an insurgent group is able to organize the politico-military infrastructure needed to support its activities, is central to the process of insurgency. It is from such sanctuaries that operations against the enemy are planned and launched. Theorists and practitioners such as T. E. Lawrence, Mao Tse-Tung, Che Guevara, and Osama Bin Laden have utilized sanctuaries. Twenty-first century sanctuaries include cyberspace, offshore banking, outer space, and ideological sanctuaries. The operational challenge is daunting when neither joint nor service doctrine addresses the enemy's use of safe havens. A paradigm shift must occur away from a bottom-up tactical approach to a joint and interagency top-down approach if the United States is to develop a counter-sanctuary strategy for the future.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA478485
Entities
People
- Marc Jamison
Organizations
- United States Army War College