Insurgent Safe Havens: Can We Win the Fight?

Abstract

Theorists of Guerilla Warfare like Mao Tse-tung, T.E. Lawrence, and Che Guevara suggest some form of sanctuary is necessary for any insurgency to be successful; history shows this to be true and examination of modern examples further support this hypothesis. The Vietcong in Vietnam, the Sunni Insurgency and AI-Qaeda in Iraq, and the Taliban in Afghanistan all provide a foundation to understand the importance of sanctuary to insurgent groups and demonstrate how difficult they can be to defeat. Insurgent groups with sanctuary achieve varying levels of success depending on the type of sanctuary and the extent of external support they receive. The war in Afghanistan bears a striking resemblance to Vietnam with regards to sanctuary; the insurgency is utilizing sanctuary both inside Afghanistan and in Pakistan's western frontier to fight a protracted war against the US and its allies. Unless the United States denies the Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuary in Pakistan, we cannot be successful in defeating the Taliban and destroying al-Qaeda's regional and global influence.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 2011
Accession Number
ADA600738

Entities

People

  • William C. Hummer

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Border Security
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Insurgency
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Sociology

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.