Low intensity conflict (LIC) is the use of military forces applied selectively and with restraint to enforce compliance with the policies or objectives of the political body controlling the military force. The term can be used to describe conflicts where at least one or both of the opposing parties operate along such lines. Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...

Low intensity operations

Low-Intensity Operations is a military term for the deployment and use of troops and/or assets in situations other than war. Generally these operations are against non-state adversaries and are given terms like counter-insurgency, anti-subversion, and peacekeeping. Some, depending on political alignment, view LIC as a form of terrorism.[1] The term "low intensity operations" appears to have originated with General Sir Frank Kitson. Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Non-state actors, in international relations, are actors on the international level which are not states. ... Counter-insurgency is the combating of insurgency, by the government (or allies) of the territory in which the insurgency takes place. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... General Sir Frank Edward Kitson. ...

Official state definitions

US Army Field Manual

Low-intensity conflict is defined by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (as promulgated in the US Army Field Manual 100-20) as:

... a political-military confrontation between contending states or groups below conventional war and above the routine, peaceful competition among states. It frequently involves protracted struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low-intensity conflict ranges from subversion to the use of the armed forces. It is waged by a combination of means, employing political, economic, informational, and military instruments. Low-intensity conflicts are often localized, generally in the Third World, but contain regional and global security implications. Subversion is an overturning or uprooting. ...

Implementation

Weapons

As the name suggests, in comparison with conventional operations the armed forces involved operate at a greatly reduced tempo, with fewer soldiers, a reduced range of tactical equipment and limited scope to operate in a military manner. For example the use of air power, pivotal in modern warfare, is often relegated to transport and surveillance. Artillery is often not used when LIC occurs in populated areas. The role of the armed forces is dependent on the stage of the insurrection, whether it has progressed to armed struggle or is in an early stage of propaganda and protests. Aerial warfare is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of warfare. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... Urban warfare is a modern warfare conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. ...

Intelligence

Intelligence gathering is essential to an efficient basis of LIC operation instructions. Electronic and signal gathering intelligence, ELINT and SIGINT, proves largely ineffective against low intensity opponents. LIC generally requires more hands-on HUMINT methods of information retrieval. Intelligence Gathering Disciplines HUMINT - Human Intelligence - gathered from a person on the ground. ... ELINT stands for ELectronic INTelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by use of electronic sensors. ... SIGINT stands for SIGnals INTelligence, which is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether by radio interception or other means. ... HUMINT, a syllabic abbreviation of the words HUMan INTelligence, is a category of intelligence gathering disciplines that encompasses all gathering of intelligence by means of interpersonal contact. ...

Stages

In the first stages of insurrection, much of the army's work is "soft" - working in conjunction with civil authorities in psychological operations, propaganda, counter-organizing, so-called "hearts-and-minds." If the conflict progresses, possibly into armed clashes, the role develops with the addition of the identification and removal of the armed groups - but again, at a low level, communities rather than entire cities. Throughout the conflict there is a general need for the armed forces to operate in a manner to which they are not well-suited or adequately trained - police-work, individual assassination, arrests, interrogations and torture being problematic and often leading to human rights abuses and unnecessary deaths. Psychological Operations (or PSYOPS) are techniques used by military and police forces to influence a target audiences emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately behavior. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Swedish Anti-Euro propaganda for the referendum of 2003. ...

Examples

Examples of low-intensity operations include the British campaigns against the Mau Mau in Kenya in the 1950s, the Malayan Races Liberation Army led by the Communist leader Chin Peng in Malaya in the Malayan Emergency from 1948 to 1960, Aden in the 60s, Oman in the 70s, against EOKA in Cyprus in the 1960s, and "the troubles" in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to mid-1990s. Since World War II, the British military has engaged in over fifty low intensity campaigns.^{[citation needed]} The U.S. Rapid Deployment Forces were formed to deal with low intensity conflicts. Combatants Mau Mau British Empire Commanders * Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi * General China (Waruhiu Itote) * Stanley Mathenge * Evelyn Baring(Governor) * General Sir George Erskine Strength Unknown 10,000 regular troops (Africans and Europeans) 21,000 police, 25,000 home guard[1] Casualties 10,527 killed in action;[2] 2,633 captured... The Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA) was a combatant in the Malayan Emergency, an insurrection and guerrilla war against the British and Malayan administration from 1948-1960 in what is now Malaysia. ... 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. ... EOKA (Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (Greek National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that fought for the expulsion of British troops from the island, for self-determination and for union with Greece in the mid to late 1950s. ... For the UK post-rock band, see Troubles (band) The Troubles is a term used to describe the latest installment of periodic communal violence involving Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the late... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Ian Paisley  - Deputy First Minister... In 1977, a presidential directive called for a mobile force capable of responding to worldwide contingencies but to be established without diverting forces from NATO or Korea. ...

The Israeli Defence Forces have performed hundreds of low-intensity operations during the al-Aqsa Intifada and achieved overwhelming results. The Israeli SHABAK has successfully created a large network of HUMINT agents for the purpose of extracting intelligence to enable IDF identification and termination of insurgent leaders. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces... For other uses, see al-Aqsa (disambiguation). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints. ... HUMINT, a syllabic abbreviation of the words HUMan INTelligence, is a category of intelligence gathering disciplines that encompasses all gathering of intelligence by means of interpersonal contact. ...

LIC Doctrines

• Urban warfare:
  • MOUT : the macromanagemental facet of urban warfare, how to utilize infantry, tanks, snipers and bulldozers in order to clear a populated area from armed enemy's forces with minimal casualties to raiding forces and civilian population.
  • CQB : the micromanagemental facet of urban warfare, how a squad of infantry should fight in narrow alleys, buildings and tunnels.
• Counter terror
  • (when fighting against terrorist groups)
• Intelligence gathering
  • HUMINT : HUMINT stands for Human Intelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by means of interrogation, espionage and use of secret agent networks in the local population.
  • SIGINT : SIGINT stands for Signals Intelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether by radio interception or other means.
  • ELINT : stands for Electronic Intelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by use of electronic sensors.

Urban warfare is a modern warfare conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. ... MOUT/FIBUA simulated in US Army exercise Urban warfare is warfare conducted in populated urban areas such as towns and cities. ... Urban warfare is a modern warfare conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers practice sniper marksmanship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq on February 15, 2005. ... A Caterpillar D10N bulldozer at work A bulldozer is a very powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with MOUT. (Discuss) CQB, sometimes CQC, is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle or Close Quarters Combat, and refers to fighting methods within buildings, streets, narrow alleys and other places where visibility and maneuverability are limited. ... Urban warfare is a modern warfare conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. ... Counter-terrorism refers to the practices, tactics, and strategies that governments, militaries, and other groups adopt in order to fight terrorism. ... Terrorist redirects here. ... Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... HUMINT, a syllabic abbreviation of the words HUMan INTelligence, is a category of intelligence gathering disciplines that encompasses all gathering of intelligence by means of interpersonal contact. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... Secret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. ... SIGINT stands for SIGnals INTelligence, which is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether by radio interception or other means. ... ELINT stands for ELectronic INTelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by use of electronic sensors. ...

See also

• Guerrilla warfare
• Fourth Generation Warfare

Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fourth generation warfare (4GW) is a concept in American military doctrine defined in 1989 by a team of American analysts, including William S. Lind, used to describe warfares return to a decentralized form. ...

References

Further reading

• General Sir Frank Kitson. Low-intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Peacekeeping. Faber and Faber, 1971. ISBN 0-571-16181-2
• British Army (Ed.) Land Operations, Volume III, Counter Revolutionary Operations, 1969.
• Robert Asprey. War in the Shadows, ISBN 0-595-22593-4