Special Warfare: The Missing Middle in U.S. Coercive Options

Abstract

In the face of adversaries exploiting regional social divisions by using special operations forces and intelligence services, and dwindling American appetite for intervention, the United States needs to employ a more sophisticated form of special warfare to secure its interests. Special warfare campaigns stabilize or destabilize a regime by operating through and with local state or nonstate partners, rather than through unilateral U.S. action. Special operations forces are typically the primary U.S. military forces employed, but successful campaigns depend on employing a broad suite of joint and U.S. government capabilities. The figure on this page differentiates special warfare from more familiar forms of conflict. Special warfare has particular relevance to the current global security environment as policymakers seek options short of large-scale intervention to manage both acute (e.g., Syrian civil war, Ukraine crisis) and chronic challenges (e.g., insurgency in the Philippines).

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA620147

Entities

People

  • Abby Doll
  • Dan Madden
  • Dick Hoffmann
  • Fred T. Krawchuk
  • John E. Peters
  • Linda Robinson
  • Michael J. Johnson

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Intellectual Property
  • International Security
  • Law
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Political Warfare
  • Public Policy
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Theoretical Analysis.