Local Security, Policing, and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from Iraq
Abstract
For more than 7 years, events in Iraq have demonstrated the need for robust and capable local security forces to prevent the emergence of an insurgency and reduce violence once an insurgency has begun. Time and opportunities lost as a result of inadequate local security can take years to overcome once an insurgency becomes entrenched. Local forces are the first line of defense in protecting the civilian population, gathering intelligence, and neutralizing low-level criminals before they can organize into or support an insurgency. Restoration of local security cannot be an afterthought, nor can it be abandoned at the expense of developing national-level military and paramilitary forces. Development of local security forces must be a central element of planning in the earliest stages. Planners should focus on ensuring that sufficient numbers of "good enough" local forces are in place as early as possible upon the cessation of combat operations, with longer term plans developed for training and equipping the right mix of police forces with the right capabilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 17, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA530153
Entities
People
- Adrienne Lauzon
Organizations
- National Defense University