Reducing an Insurgency's Foothold: Using Army Sustainability Concepts as a Tool of Security Cooperation for AFRICOM
Abstract
On February 6, 2007, President Bush announced the creation of a new unified command called U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). AFRICOM is mandated to strengthen American forces' operations and activities in Africa, enlarge the capacities of African partners, and create a new model of integrated U.S. civilian and military efforts. It is designed to provide an integrated approach to new security challenges such as insurgency, the most likely form of warfare in which the United States will be engaged in the next several decades. Insurgencies thrive in environments that permit fear and persuasion to have power over the community and in which quality of life needs are not addressed by the local government. As The Army Strategy for the Environment indicates, advances in technology, an increasing global population, and urbanization are placing significant stress on the world's interconnected human, economic, and natural systems. Army sustainability concepts are designed to address these stressors by focusing on basic human needs, enhancing the natural environment, and safeguarding public health. The application of these sustainability concepts by a regional command can also contribute to reducing the likelihood that insurgents will gain a foothold in geographical areas where conflicts tend to arise (i.e., in less developed countries and failing and failed states). Not satisfying these basic human needs can contribute to a milieu in which unlawfulness, corruption, and disorder can grow. Such disorder affords insurgents the opportunity to emerge, find a receptive audience for their ideologies, and undermine social order and governance. This paper will examine the sustainability concepts that support the Army's triple bottom line of Mission, Environment, and Community for application within AFRICOM as a model for working with less developed countries to reduce the opportunity for insurgency development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 04, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA493738
Entities
People
- Timothy E. Hill
Organizations
- United States Army War College