Irregular warfare explained

Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations."[1] In practice, control of institutions and infrastructure is also important. Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the term itself.[2]

Irregular warfare favors indirect warfare and asymmetric warfare approaches, though it may employ the full range of military and other capabilities in order to erode the adversary's power, influence, and will. It is inherently a protracted struggle that will test the resolve of a state and its strategic partners.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The term "irregular warfare" was settled upon in distinction from "traditional warfare" and "unconventional warfare", and to differentiate it as such; it is unrelated to the distinction between "regular" and "irregular forces".[8]

Terminology

Early usage

One of the earliest known uses of the term irregular warfare is in the 1986 English edition of "Modern Irregular Warfare in Defense Policy and as a Military Phenomenon" by former Nazi officer Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte. The original 1972 German edition of the book is titled "Der Moderne Kleinkrieg als Wehrpolitisches und Militarisches Phänomen". The German word "Kleinkrieg" is literally translated as "Small War."[9] The word "Irregular," used in the title of the English translation of the book, seems to be a reference to non "regular armed forces" as per the Third Geneva Convention.

Another early use of the term is in a 1996 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) document by Jeffrey B. White.[10] Major military doctrine developments related to IW were done between 2004 and 2007[11] as a result of the September 11 attacks on the United States.[12] [13] A key proponent of IW within US Department of Defense (DoD) is Michael G. Vickers, a former paramilitary officer in the CIA.[14] The CIA's Special Activities Center (SAC) is the premiere American paramilitary clandestine unit for creating and for combating irregular warfare units.[15] [16] [17] For example, SAC paramilitary officers created and led successful irregular units from the Hmong tribe during the war in Laos in the 1960s,[18] from the Northern Alliance against the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan in 2001,[19] and from the Kurdish Peshmerga against Ansar al-Islam and the forces of Saddam Hussein during the war in Iraq in 2003.[20] [21] [22]

Other definitions

Examples

Nearly all modern wars include at least some element of irregular warfare. Since the time of Napoleon, approximately 80% of conflict has been irregular in nature.However, the following conflicts may be considered to have exemplified by irregular warfare:

Activities

Activities and types of conflict included in IW are:

According to the DoD, there are five core activities of IW:

Modeling and simulation

As a result of DoD Directive 3000.07,[5] United States armed forces are studying irregular warfare concepts using modeling and simulation.[28] [29] [30]

Wargames and exercises

There have been several military wargames and military exercises associated with IW, including:

See also

Individuals:

Notes

  1. Web site: Pelleriti . John A. . Maloney . Michael . Cox . David C. . Sullivan . Heather J. . Piskura . J. Eric . Hawkins . Montigo J. . 2019 . The Insufficiency of U.S. Irregular Warfare Doctrine . https://web.archive.org/web/20220202154750/https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-93/jfq-93_104_110_Pelleriti-et-al.pdf . 2 February 2022 . Joint Force Quarterly.
  2. Web site: Gates . John M. . The U.S. Army and Irregular Warfare . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090623141322/http://www.wooster.edu/History/jgates/book-contents.html . 2009-06-23 . 2010-02-20 . College of Wooster.
  3. "Irregular Warfare (IW) Joint Operating Concept (JOC)", Version 1.0, United States Department of Defense, 27 February 2009 http://morsnet.pbwiki.com/f/MORS+IW+Mini-Symposium+TOR-final.pdf
  4. "US Irregular Warfare (IW) Analysis Workshop", Military Operations Research Society (MORS), 11 September 2007 http://www.dtic.mil/futurejointwarfare/concepts/iw_joc1_0.pdf
  5. "Irregular Warfare (IW)", DoD Directive 3000.07, United States Department of Defense, 1 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090216140719/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/300007p.pdf
  6. "Quadrennial Roles & Missions (QRM) Review Report", United States Department of Defense, January 2009 http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2009/QRMFinalReport_v26Jan.pdf
  7. "Irregular Warfare", Doctrine Document 2-3, United States Air Force, 1 August 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20090908204029/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA471742
  8. Book: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mg668a.10. 10.7249/mg668a.10. Defining Irregular Warfare. Larson. Eric V.. Eaton. Derek. Nichiporuk. Brian. Szayna. Thomas S.. Assessing Irregular Warfare. 2008. 7–18. RAND Corporation. 9780833043221.
  9. Book: Moses, A. Dirk . German Intellectuals and the Nazi Past . . 2007 . 978-0-511-51190-5 . Cambridge . 191719860.
  10. Web site: White . Jeffrey B. . 14 April 2007 . Some Thoughts on Irregular Warfare . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613113746/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/96unclass/iregular.htm . 13 June 2007 . CIA.
  11. Web site: 2004 . The National Military Strategy of the United States of America . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070610085546/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil429.pdf . 10 June 2007 . Strategic Studies Institute.
  12. Web site: Miller . Frank A. . 15 March 2006 . Irregular Warfare – Perhaps Not So "Irregular . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070610085546/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil429.pdf . 10 June 2007 . Strategic Studies Institute.
  13. Web site: September 2002 . The National Security Strategy of the United States of America . https://web.archive.org/web/20031224183003/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/national/nss-020920.pdf . 24 December 2003 . . United States National Security Council.
  14. Web site: Grant . Greg . 7 April 2009 . The Man Behind Irregular Warfare Push: Mike Vickers . https://web.archive.org/web/20090411113143/http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/04/07/the-man-behind-irregular-warfare-push-mike-vickers . 11 April 2009 . DoDBuzz.
  15. Book: Southworth . Samuel A. . U.S. Special Forces : A Guide to America's Special Operations Units : The World's Most Elite Fighting Force . Tanner . Stephen . . 2002 . 978-0-306-81165-4 . 1st . Cambridge, MA . 49594086.
  16. Web site: Waller, Douglas, "The CIA Secret Army", Time Inc., 3 February 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030201095351/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030203/. dead. February 1, 2003. time.com.
  17. Stone, Kathryn & Williams, Anthony R., All Necessary Means: Employing CIA operatives in a Warfighting Role Alongside Special Operations Forces, United States Army War College (USAWC), 7 April 2003
  18. Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos, Steerforth Press,, 1996
  19. [Bob Woodward|Woodward, Bob]
  20. Tucker, Mike & Faddis, Charles, Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq, The Lyons Press,, 2008
  21. Woodward, Bob, Plan of Attack, Simon and Schuster,, 2004
  22. https://web.archive.org/web/20170329092804/https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-67/JFQ-67_32-39_Berger.pdf Covert Action: Title 10, Title 50, and the Chain of Commanaad
  23. "Irregular Warfare Special Study," United States Joint Forces Command Joint Warfighting Center, 4 August 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20120717052640/http://merln.ndu.edu/archive/digitalcollections/irregwarfarespecialstudy.pdf
  24. "Quadrennial Defense Review Report", United States Department of Defense, 6 February 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20090613035700/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/qdr-2006-report.pdf
  25. Web site: Benest, David, "British Leaders and Irregular Warfare," 29 August 2007 . 28 August 2009 . 26 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120226131731/http://rdsc.md.government.bg/BG/Activities/Publication/MilitaryLead/3-4-Benest.pdf . dead .
  26. According to the definition of "regular forces," which came much after the American Revolutionary War (ARW), the American forces did not meet the following criteria at all times during the ARW:
    • having a fixed distinctive emblem recognizable at a distance
    • carrying arms openly
    • conducting operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war


    Notwithstanding, in terms of modern international humanitarian law which was also developed much later than the ARW, the American forces formed part of the armed forces of a party to an armed conflict but not belonging to that party's regular forces (since the United States of America did not exist and hence could not have had regular forces; the American forces were an insurgency at least until 1776) and operating in or outside of their own territory even if the territory is under occupation.

    American forces did become regular forces but cannot be considered regular forces during the entire period of the ARW. For example, the American flag got established (1777) 2 years after the ARW started (1775). Also, there were great disparities between the American and British forces. It was not until France started to assist American forces (1778) that the disparity started to be narrowed. Conflict during the disparity surely counts as Asymmetric warfare. Also, the Boston Tea Party (1773) can be viewed as guerrilla tactics. At the very least, a good portion of the ARW should be counted as IW, although the entire ARW being counted as IW is controversial. However, since more than 1/2 of the ARW was fought as ARW then it is thought that it is safe to classify it as IW even though that the American forces acted in all respects as regular forces towards the end of the conflict.

  27. Book: Marston, Daniel. The American Revolution 1774-1783. Osprey Publishing. 2002. 978-1-84176-343-9.
  28. "U. S. Army Enhancement of Irregular Warfare Modeling & Simulation", United States Army Modeling and Simulation Office, 24 February 2009 http://www.ms.army.mil/current/IW%20Current%20Initiative.pdf
  29. "MORS Workshop Irregular Warfare (IW) II Analysis Workshop", Military Operations Research Society, 3–6 February 2009 http://morsnet.pbworks.com/f/Carlucci+-+-+Phalanx+Article+Irregular+Warfare+Analysis+Workshop23Feb.pdf
  30. Cragg, Lt. Jennifer, "Behavior Studies May Improve Irregular Warfare Techniques", American Forces Press Service, 20 April 2009 http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53997
  31. Web site: Av免费在线观看,国产免费A∨在线播放,国产高清AV免费观看,AV免费在线观看. 2009-04-29. 2022-07-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20220702185457/http://www.citmo.net/library/Military%20Support%20to%20Unified%20Action%20-%20ROL%20Focus%20for%20Policing%20WS.ppt. dead.
  32. Web site: Home . unifiedquest.army.mil . 2009-04-29 . 2011-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722183346/https://unifiedquest.army.mil/ . dead .
  33. Web site: Maritime Stability Operations - PDF. docplayer.net. 2017-09-07.

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