![]() Do the insurgents want the overthrow of the regime (an unlimited political objective) or do they want something less, say, for example, 13 colonies in an imperial backwater. Insurrections can pursue limited or unlimited political objectives, which will depend upon the situation at hand. It is the political objective that provides the clearest basis for analysis, not the size of the force or the means and methods of warfare. Insurrections are invariably classified as limited wars because the insurgents-tactically-fight using traditional guerrilla warfare methods with forces that are usually (but certainly not always) small, weak, and poorly armed-at least initially. The Foundation for Analysis: The Political ObjectiveĪs with all wars, we must begin the analysis by understanding the political objectives sought. Unfortunately, space requires us to risk making the same error. ![]() This failing can lead to simplistic recommendations for addressing one of the most complicated military problems. The literature suffers from an endemic lack of self-awareness on this point and does not deal with the reality that tactical fixes often cannot address the larger strategic challenges. The literature on insurgency and counterinsurgency is voluminous and this is certainly not the place to discuss it, and wars in which insurgency is the dominant factor are invariably described as “limited.” What we must point out is that much of the writing on these topics is tactical and thus not directly related to our discussion. Image: By Staff Sergeant Aaron Allmon – This Image was released by the United States Air Force with the ID 060203-F-7823A-008, Public Domain.
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