Counter-insurgency is the combating of insurgency, by the government (or allies) of the territory in which the insurgency takes place. It therefore falls somewhere between ordinary policing, on the one hand, and warfare on the other. Counter-insurgency is normally conducted as a combination of conventional military operations and other means, such as Propaganda, Psy-Ops, and assassinations. Counter-insurgency operations include many different facades military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken to defeat insurgency. An insurgency is an armed revolt or insurrection against an established civil or political authority, such as a constituted government or an occupation by an invading force. ... It has been suggested that Propaganda in the United States be merged into this article or section. ... Psychological Operations (PSYOP or PSYOPS) are planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to specific foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ... Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of mind, thought, and behaviour. ... An insurgency is an armed revolt or insurrection against an established civil or political authority, such as a constituted government or an occupation by an invading force. ...

The U.S. Army published a Special Forces manual titled Counter-Insurgency Operations in 1960. The term was used by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and since the Autumn of 2004 has been used by them to describe ongoing operations in Iraq. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead...

As used by the U.S. Army, counter-insurgency operations include psychological warfare and information warfare aspects of such operations, which include direct interference in a country's politics and media or the spread of disinformation (the civilian equivalent of military deception) to maintain control of a population. The U.S. Department of Defense defines psychological warfare (PSYWAR) as: The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... Disinformation, in the context of espionage, military intelligence, and propaganda, is the spreading of deliberately false information to mislead an enemy as to ones position or course of action. ... Military deception is an attempt to amplify, or create an artificial, fog of war or to mislead the enemy using psychological operations, information warfare and other methods. ...

Controversy

Counter-insurgency tactics are often controversial, sometimes involving human rights abuses and violations of civil liberties, such as internment, detention of familiy members of suspected insurgents as de facto hostages, extra-judicial killing of civilians and prisoners and torture. Tactics similar to those of guerrilla warfare and insurgency are sometimes used by the governments themselves, such as assassinations of suspected insurgents, extra-judicial executions of suspected insurgent sympathisers and irregular paramilitary operations by covert operatives who may not wear uniforms. The word internment is generally used to refer to the imprisonment or confinement of people, generally in prison camps or prisons, without due process of law and a trial. ... A hostage is a person (sometimes another entity) which is held by a captor (often a criminal abductor) in order to compel another party (relative, employer, government. ... Torture is any act by which severe pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person as a means of intimidation, a deterrent, revenge, a punishment, or as a method for the extraction of information or confessions (i. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from the Spanish guerrilla meaning little war, and used to describe small combat groups and the individual members of such groups (see Etymology). ... An insurgency is an armed revolt or insurrection against an established civil or political authority, such as a constituted government or an occupation by an invading force. ...

In many conflicts, counter-insurgency operations can kill more civilians than the insurgents themselves. This may especially occur when the insurgents have a sizable support base among certain sectors of the civilian population (or among the population as a whole), or when certain regions are predominantly under their influence or control. Examples of this include the US anti-insurgency operation in Iraq, Israeli counter-insurgency during the occupations of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon, Indian Army counter insurgency operations in Kashmir and North-Eastern states of India, many anti-British colonial uprisings, Contras in Nicaragua, the Caravan of Death in Chile, and many of the different paramilitary groups (such as the AUC) and death squads in Colombia. Iraqi militants celebrating orders being given to the surrounding Coalition forces to stand down, Fallujah, May 1 2004. ... The Indian Army (भारतीय सेना Hindi: Bharatiya Sena) is the land force of the Armed Forces of India and has the prime responsibility of conducting land-based warfare. ... Shown in green is the Kashmiri region under Pakistani control. ... The Contras (from the Spanish term La Contra, short for movement of the contrarrevolucionarios, meaning counter-revolutionaries) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the ending of the Somoza familys 43-year rule. ... The Caravan of Death was an Army squad that roamed Chile in October 1973, following Augusto Pinochets coup, murdering the regimes opponents. ... Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) or AUC is a terrorist umbrella organization formed in April 1997 to consolidate most local and regional paramilitary groups in Colombia, each with the mission to protect economic interests and combat insurgents locally. ...

It could also be argued that in US President George W. Bush's War on Terrorism, US and allied armed forces have by far killed more civilians than Al Qaeda, the Iraqi resistance and allied anti-US Islamist militants. According to Iraq Body Count, over 3,500 civilians were killed by anti-US paramilitaries between September 2001 and November 2003, compared to over 3000 civilians killed in Afghanistan and at least 10,000 killed in Iraq by US and allied forces. [1]. The Lancet journal subsequently estimated 98,000 (8000-194000) civilians died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and reported civilians deaths according to Iraq Body Count now exceed 25,000. Most (over a third) are attributed to US and allied forces, a similar amount to common criminals and only 9% to the insurgents. [2]. George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former governor of Texas. ... The War on Terrorism or War on Terror is a campaign by the United States government and some of its allies with the stated goal of ending international terrorism by stopping those groups identified by the U.S. as terrorist groups and ending state sponsorship of terrorism. ... Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda, in the 1990s. ... Iraqi militants celebrating orders being given to the surrounding Coalition forces to stand down, Fallujah, May 1 2004. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... The Iraq Body Count project is an ongoing effort to record those civilian casualties (including journalists) of the 2003 Iraq war attributable to the invasion. ... Lancet may refer to: A lancet is a medical instrument, similar to a scalpel but with a double-edged blade. ...

An exception to this rule appears to be the most recent 1970s-1998 Troubles in Northern Ireland, in which Provisional IRA guerrillas are said to have killed the most people, including the most civilians, when compared to the British security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries. The Troubles is a term used to describe two periods of violence in Ireland during the twentieth century. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the powers that be or The Establishment. ...

Notable British counter-insurgency operations occurred during the difficult process of decolonization: for example, the Malayan Emergency, the Aden Emergency, and the Mau-Mau Emergency. Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization is the process by which a colony gains its independence from a colonial power, a process opposite to colonization. ... The Malayan Emergency was an insurrection and guerrilla war of the Malay Races Liberation Army against the British and Malayan administration from 1948-1960 in what is now Malaysia. ... The Colony of Aden (Arabic: مستعمرة عدن []) was a British crown colony from 1937 to 1963 and consisted of the port city of Aden and its immediate surroundings. ... Port of Aden (around 1910). ... The Mau Mau Uprising was an insurgency by Kenyan rebels against the British colonial administration from 1952 to 1960. ...

The U.S. military and allied South Vietnamese security forces conducted counter-insurgency operations against National Liberation Front guerrillas during the Vietnam War, including the notorious Phoenix Program which resulted in the killing of thousands of civilians accused of being NLF sympathisers or relatives of sympathisers. For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... National Liberation Front (NLF) flag NLF prisoner The National Front for the Liberation of Southern Vietnam (Vietnamese Mặt Trận Giải Phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam), also known as the National Liberation Front (NLF) and as Front National de Liberté (FNL), was the primary rebel organization fighting the Colonialist French regime... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... The Phoenix Program, known as Kế Hoạch Phụng Hoàng (a word related to fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix) in Vietnamese, was a covert intelligence operation undertaken by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in close collaboration with South Vietnamese intelligence during the Vietnam War. ...

The U.S., British and allied occupation forces and the Iraqi security forces are currently engaging in a counter-insurgency operation against various Iraqi guerrilla groups opposed to the presence of foreign troops and the current elected Iraqi government. For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Iraqi militants celebrating orders being given to the surrounding Coalition forces to stand down, Fallujah, May 1 2004. ...

Tactics

Draining The Water

The name of this tactic is taken from Mao Zedong's advice to his guerrillas to "move through the people like a fish moves through water". To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

It often involves the relocation of the population ("water") to expose the guerrillas or insurgents ("fish"). In other words, relocation deprives the aforementioned of the support, cover, and resources of the local population. Population transfer is a term referring to a policy by which a state, or international authority, forces the movement of a large group of people out of a region, most frequently on the basis of their ethnicity or religion. ... An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority, by any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced or established authority, government, or administration. ...

British forces were able to employ the relocation method with considerable success during the Malayan Emergency. The Briggs Plan, implemented fully in 1950, relocated Chinese squatters into protected "New Villages", designated by British forces. By the end of 1951, some 400,000 Chinese had moved into the fortifications. Of this population, the British forces were able to form a "Home Guard", armed for resistance against the Malay Communist Party, an implementation mirrored by the Strategic Hamlet Program later used by U.S. forces in South Vietnam. Briggs Plan was a major resettlement plan tailored by the British during the Malayan Emergency to stiffle communist rebels food and medical supplies in Malaya during mid-1950s. ... A Chinese Malaysian (Mandarin: ma lai xi ya hua ren (馬來西亞華人), Hokkien: mah lai se ah hua kiao, Cantonese: mah lah zai wah kew (馬來西亞華僑), Bahasa Malaysia: fill-in) is an overseas Chinese who resides in Malaysia. ... The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the nationalist insurgency by means of population transfer. ...

Somewhat similar strategy was used extensively by U.S. forces in South Vietnam, initially by forcing the rural population into fenced camps, referred to as Strategic Hamlets, and later by bombing them with B-52s to remove the rest from their villages and farms. Widespread use was made of chemical herbicides, sprayed from airplanes, to destroy crops that might possibly have provided resources for NLF fighters and their human support base. Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range eight-engined strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954, replacing the Convair B-36 and the Boeing B-47. ... U.S. Military planes cropdusting in Vietnam during Operation Ranch Hand Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. ... National Liberation Front (NLF) flag NLF prisoner The National Front for the Liberation of Southern Vietnam (Vietnamese Mặt Trận Giải Phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam), also known as the National Liberation Front (NLF) and as Front National de Liberté (FNL), was the primary rebel organization fighting the Colonialist French regime...

COIN Aircraft

Since the 1960s, a specialized form of close air support has been developed for counter-insurgency operations. This covers a wide range of operations, from ground attack and observation to light transport and casualty evacuation. An aircraft used for counter-insurgency should ideally be able to perform all these roles. Such an aircraft should have low loitering speed, long endurance, simplicity in maintenance, and the capability to make short take-offs and landings from rough frontline airstrips. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ...

At first (particularly during the Vietnam War) counter-insurgency missions were flown by existing airplanes and helicopters hastily adapted for the role, notably the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Later, more specialized counter-insurgency (or COIN) aircraft began to appear, such as: Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... An AD-4N Skyraider The Douglas AD (later A-1) Skyraider, nicknamed the SPAD after early American fighter ace Eddie Rickenbackers mount of choice, was a US single-seat attack bomber of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age with a remarkably...

• Britten-Norman Defender (UK)
• BAC Strikemaster (UK)
• Cessna A-37 Dragonfly (USA)
• Rockwell OV-10 Bronco (USA)
• FMA IA 58 Pucará (Argentina)

BN-2B Islander II operated by Ryukyu Air Commuter The Britten-Norman Islander (also known as the BN-2) is a light utility aircraft manufactured by Britten-Norman of Britain. ... The BAC 167 Strikemaster was a light jet-powered attack aircraft. ... T-37s in formation One of the most prominent of the trainer-attack type aircraft is the Cessna T-37/A-37, known in various forms as the Tweety Bird, Tweet, Dragonfly, or Super Tweet. ... An OV-10 as displayed in Hurlburt Field Air Park. ... The FMA IA 58 Pucará is a twin-engined counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft made in Argentina, flown for the first time on August 20, 1969. ...

See also

• Algerian War of Independence (1954-62 — ever since studied in military schools as one of the prototype of counter-insurgency)
• Internally displaced people
• COINTELPRO
• Operation Condor
• Strategic Hamlet
• Einsatzgruppen
• death squad
• School of the Americas
• Second Boer War
• Philippine-American War
• Robert Thompson (counter-insurgency expert)
• Edward Lansdale (counter-insurgency expert)
• Klaus Barbie (counter-insurgency expert)
• Roberto D'Aubuisson (counter-insurgency expert)

The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was a period of guerrilla strikes, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians on both sides, and riots between the French army and colonists, or the colons as they were called, in French special département Algeria and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale... A displaced person (sometimes abbreviated DP) is the general term for someone who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration. ... COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the government of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the Vietcong insurgency by population transfer. ... A member of Einsatzgruppe D is just about to execute Jewish man kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... A death squad is an armed group that carries out, usually in secrecy, extrajudicial assassinations and forced disappearances of activists, dissidents and others perceived as interfering with a social or political status quo. ... The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), formerly School of the Americas (SOA), is a US Army facility at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, USA. It is a training facility operated in the Spanish language especially for Latin American military personnel. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State, South African Republic Commanders Frederick Roberts later Lord Kitchener Christiaan Rudolf de Wet and Paul Kruger Casualties Military dead:22,000 Civilian dead:N/A Total dead:22,000 Military dead:6,500 Civilian dead:24,000 Total dead:30,500 The Second Boer... Combatants United States The Philippines Commanders Elwell Stephen Otis Emilio Aguinaldo Strength 126,000 soldiers 80,000 soldiers Casualties 4,324 U.S. soldiers dead 2,840 wounded; 2,000 killed, dead, or wounded of the Philippine Constabulary 16,000 soldiers killed est. ... Sir Robert Thompson is/was a British counter-insurgency expert. ... Edward Lansdale in 1963 Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908–February 23, 1987) was a US Air Force officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency. ... Klaus Barbie in Army NCO Uniform Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon (October 25, 1913 – September 25, 1991) was a Nazi war criminal and drug trafficker. ... Major Roberto DAubuisson Arrieta (August 23, 1944–February 20, 1992), a Salvadoran political figure known as Chele, and Blowtorch Bob by detractors, was a Salvadoran politician and military leader who founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), which he led from 1978 to 1985. ...

External links

• Military Operations in Low Intensity Conflict FM 100-20 / AFP 3-20, Headquarters, Departments of the Army and Air Force Washington, DC, 12 May 1990
• British Counter Insurgency Strategy
• Inside Counterinsurgency, by Stan Goff, ex - US special forces
• Instruments of Statecraft - U.S. Guerrilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency, and Counterterrorism, 1940 - 1990, by Michael McClintock
• Counter-Revolutionary Violence - Bloodbaths in Fact & Propaganda, by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman
• THE WARSAW GHETTO IS NO MORE, by SS Brigade Commander Jürgen Stroop
• Best Practices in Counterinsurgency
• [3] Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in the 21st Century by Steven Metz and Raymond Millen
• [4] Field Manual 3-07-22 interim, Counterinsurgency Operations