Asymmetric Warfare

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Asymmetric Warfare

Postby Fenrisco » Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:47 pm

Can any of you educated folks suggest good reads on the strategy and tactics of asymmetric/irregular warfare? Ideally available online and written from, or applicable to, the little guy's point of view. Thanks!
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby Sri Lanky » Fri Oct 05, 2012 2:05 pm

The one between the two hemispheres?
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby OneLungMcClung » Fri Oct 05, 2012 2:55 pm

For a start, here is the US Army's AWG (Asymmetrical Warfare Group) website. They actually are a very effective force hindered by unbelievable buffoonery in DC and the Pentagon.

http://www.awg.army.mil/


A simple primer on Islamist thinking in terms of fighting the great infidel. Addresses things like using civilian shields and taking prisoners.

http://www.meforum.org/1867/the-psychological-asymmetry-of-islamist-warfare


A PDF by the "Association of the United States Army", I have no idea who they are, but its a good synopsis circa 2006. A bit outdated but it shows the entry level thought by the United States after they entered the hornet's nest of insurgency that was the Iraq Occupation

http://www.ausa.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/ILW%20Web-ExclusivePubs/Land%20Warfare%20Papers/LWP_58.pdf


Now we get to the meat. A paper by a USAF staffy who is in their command college. Its about asymmetrical warfare and globalization. If you don't understand why these two go together like cornbread and butter (they do) you should read this. Dry, but informative.

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/acsc/02-053.pdf


Another paper from Air Command and Staff college. "Exposing America's weaknesses" gets to the heart of what asymmetrical warfare is all about. America is, frankly, the best nation on earth for fighting WWII and WWIII ... so why would any lesser force want to go toe to toe with them on those grounds???

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/acsc/03-1261.pdf


A Google scholar search yields a dopeload of goodies:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,39&q=asymmetric+warfare
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby coldharvest » Fri Oct 05, 2012 2:58 pm

Off the top of my head I'd say;
Mao- On Guerrilla Warfare
USMC- Small Wars Manual
Abu Bakr Naji- Management of Savagery

John Robb's "Brave New War" is a good read too.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby Fenrisco » Fri Oct 05, 2012 6:34 pm

Terrific, thank you gentlemen.

Sri Lanky wrote:The one between the two hemispheres?


Personally, my two hemispheres get along OK these days despite their asymmetry.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby Zero » Sun Mar 03, 2013 12:24 am

Gubbins - The Art of Guerrilla Warfare: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34556365/SOE- ... re-Gubbins

This strategy, more than anything else, wins asymmetric conflicts for westerners--the West used it on the Nazis.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby pit » Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:41 pm

Major von Dach - der totale Widerstand(Total Resistance)

http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6847450/ ... Widerstand

A classic swiss novel...
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby Sri Lanky » Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:52 pm

Is there such a thing as symmetric or regular warfare?
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby michelle in alaska » Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:51 pm

Image

this is newer.


Image

....and this guy's always interesting and thinking outside the box....

give me a region and i'll find more, if you'd like.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby michelle in alaska » Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:58 pm

THIS is the book I was trying to remember.
And it's new and I have not read it yet.
Image

Contents: The normative theory of military performance -- Neorealist combat balance theory -- Commando puts down the Simba Rebellion -- Callan's mercenaries are defeated in northern Angola -- Executive outcomes defeats UNITA -- The white legion abandons Zaire -- Summary of findings and implications.
Abstract: "In Mercenaries in Asymmetric Conflicts, Scott Fitzsimmons argues that small mercenary groups must maintain a superior military culture to successfully engage and defeat more numerous and better-equipped opponents. By developing and applying competing constructivist and neorealist theories of military performance to four asymmetric wars in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, he.......
....well, you get the picture...
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby nowonmai » Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:42 pm

Not sure you need constructivist and neorealist theories to tell you that in order to beat more numerous and better equipped opponents you need to be better than them.

It's amazing what small groups of good soldiers can achieve when they are unencumbered by unnecessary political handbrakes. One of these days someone is going to write the definitive book on how our way of war has gone so badly wrong. Probably after it is too late.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby RYP » Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:38 pm

there are three schools of thought.

First are the actual guys who wrote the book. This is called "guerilla" warfare. Mao, Che, etc. Or you can read about the tactics and results of rebels:

http://listverse.com/2011/05/17/top-10- ... h-history/

There there are the traditional war books which is required to understand traditional European style warfare. Too many to list but there are lists of lists

http://www.amazon.com/Top-12-Military-S ... 4AVC1CKBP6

Then there are the often pathetic attempts by European style commanders to teach troops how to deal with insurgents within a clumsy legal framework that actually increases the influence of insurgents. I think Petraeus' is the worst and this area is also called Low Intensity Conflict or LIC, Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism etc. This is where the confusion starts between counter insurgency (which needs a legitimate government) vs insurgency (training, supporting proxies or indigs to overthrow government) and everything in between.

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/US_Special_Fo ... FM_31-20-3

So I suppose the key is to figure out what scenario you are dealing with and be careful not to drink the Kool Aid. Here is a comprehensive list of most of the popular tomes including a heavy injection of Coindanista drivel that was in vogue, but now is out of vogue.

http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawama/2 ... -list.html

Personally I like to talk to the old muj, and rebels about the old days and how they formed their tactics and strategies. Killing the human animal is not that complex. Every tribe has culture, patterns, logistics and secondary effects. The trick is not to inject violence except when necessary to achieve specific effects and then only minimal violence. Killing the right people is key. Something that was scientifically using computer programs in MACV SOG and has mushroomed into an entire military wide doctrine.
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby AztecDave » Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:59 pm

ryp wrote: Then there are the often pathetic attempts by European style commanders to teach troops how to deal with insurgents within a clumsy legal framework that actually increases the influence of insurgents. I think Petraeus' is the worst and this area is also called Low Intensity Conflict or LIC, Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism etc. This is where the confusion starts between counter insurgency (which needs a legitimate government) vs insurgency (training, supporting proxies or indigs to overthrow government) and everything in between.

when I was in Iraq & afghanistanland I knew some of the IO/psyops types. guess how local indigs were in on that campaign planning. if you guessed "zero," you are correct. the high & mighty gringos, especially the SAMS grads (the uncle stupid's "jedi knights" (hahahahahahaha)), thought that if they thru enuff effort behind their efforts, they'd succeed by sheer American-ness.
The real Army, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That's the army in which I should like to fight.”
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby AztecDave » Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:59 pm

ryp wrote: Then there are the often pathetic attempts by European style commanders to teach troops how to deal with insurgents within a clumsy legal framework that actually increases the influence of insurgents. I think Petraeus' is the worst and this area is also called Low Intensity Conflict or LIC, Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism etc. This is where the confusion starts between counter insurgency (which needs a legitimate government) vs insurgency (training, supporting proxies or indigs to overthrow government) and everything in between.

when I was in Iraq & afghanistanland I knew some of the IO/psyops types. guess how local indigs were in on that campaign planning. if you guessed "zero," you are correct. the high & mighty gringos, especially the SAMS grads (the uncle stupid's "jedi knights" (hahahahahahaha)), thought that if they thru enuff effort behind their efforts, they'd succeed by sheer American-ness.
The real Army, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That's the army in which I should like to fight.”
― Jean Lartéguy
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Re: Asymmetric Warfare

Postby michelle in alaska » Fri Sep 20, 2013 6:59 am

Robert....thank you for sharing the cnas.org reading list.
..only recognize about a quarter of the authors and titles on the 'advanced' list....

Im around people who like to read literature on this subject. :)
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