Counterinsurgency

Interesting piece by a journalist who was a Marine who has been in Iraq. Good photos and quotes from the Counterinsurgency Field Manual.

Counterinsurgency is all about perception. Perception is how reality gets interpreted by people. It can be shaped, cajoled, hardened or distorted by innumerable influences. A paragraph in the Ethics section of the Army’s new COIN manual makes this clear:

Counterinsurgents that use excessive force to limit short-term risk alienate the local populace. They deprive themselves of the support or tolerance of the people. This situation is what insurgents want. It increases the threat they pose. Sometimes lethal responses are counterproductive. At other times, they are essential. The art of command includes knowing the difference and directing the appropriate action.

For all the raids that unfolded that night, Lee kept everyone in order so that nobody started ripping people’s houses apart during searches—although there had been very specific information about the target houses.