COL Joe Osborne

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Irregular Warfare Warfare in the 21st Century

• COL Joe Osborne
• J10
• Date 21 April 08

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Purpose
IW is about a logical, long term approach to
applying all elements of national power to
achieve US national objectives and protect our
vital interests

• Discuss strategic employment of IW
• Introduce a regional Irregular Warfare Concept
  application
• Identify challenges regarding implementation and
  provide recommendations
• To initiate dialogue on implications for DOD and
  the USG

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Perspective
We need to be prepared to fight a different war.
This is another type of war, new in its
intensity, ancient in its origin, war by
guerilla, subversives, insurgents, assassins war
by ambush instead of combat, by infiltration
instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding
and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him.
It requires, in those situations where we
encounter it, a whole new strategy, a wholly
different kind of force, and therefore, a new and
wholly different kind of military
training. President John F. Kennedy 1962
USMA Commencement Address
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Warfare

• Conventional warfare is a form of warfare
  conducted by using conventional military weapons
  and battlefield tactics between two or more
  states in open confrontation. The forces on each
  side are well-defined, and fight using weapons
  that primarily target the opposing army. It is
  normally fought using conventional weapons, not
  chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
• The general purpose of conventional warfare is to
  weaken or destroy the opponent's military force,
  thereby negating its ability to engage in
  conventional warfare.
• Acts undertaken to destroy or undermine the
  strength of another
• The waging of armed conflict against an enemy
• An active struggle between competing enemies
• A state of war can also exist without actual
  recourse to arms, such as the cold war.
• Life is Warfare
• Lucius Annaues
  Seneca

an active struggle between competing entities
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Clausewitz
Conventional Warfare
To Influence Here
Government
And the weak must suffer what they will.
Population
Military
Effect Desired
Effect Desired
Isolate from Conflict
Defeat Military
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Global Trends in Violent Conflict 19462005What
is regular?
Peace and Conflict 2008 Executive summary, J.
Joseph Hewitt, Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Ted Robert
Gurr, Center for International Development and
Conflict Management, University of Maryland
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Historical Precedent
Countering Irregular Threats Post Civil War
Reconstruction 1865-1869 Philippine Insurrection
(1898 1902) Banana Wars (1915 1934) Greek
Communist Rebellion(1946-1949) Huk Rebellion in
the Philippines (1946-1954) Algerian
Insurrection (1954-1962) Vietnam War
(1960-1975) El Salvador War (1980-1992)
Waging Irregular Warfare American
Revolution Indian Wars U.S-Philippine Resistance
to Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945) UN Partisan
Operations in Korea (1951 - 1953) U.S UW in
North Vietnam (1964 - 1972) U.S UW in South
Vietnam (1967 - 1972) U.S UW in the Soviet-Afghan
War (1981 - 1989) U.S UW in Kuwait (1990 - 1991)
U.S UW in Afghanistan (2001- 2002)
The Cold War
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Future Security Environment

• Perfect Storms
• Failed governments, ethnic stratification,
  religious violence, humanitarian disasters, and
  proliferation of dangerous weapons
• Lagging economies, disenfranchised populations,
  transnational crime, and destabilizing bulges of
  uneducated/unemployed youth
• Armed conflict has changed
• Fought transnationally
• Amongst the population and
• States pitted against non-state armed
  groups-ethnic, tribal, clan, religious, and
  communal warriors
• Trends
• Globalization, weapons lethality, pervasive
  insecurity, international terrorism, cultural
  clashes
• Adversary focus on stressing US resolve and
  commitment
• Primacy of Information Operations as a strategic
  weapon

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Adversary IW TTPs

• Guerilla warfare
• Subversion
• Sabotage
• Use of Media
• Smuggling
• Illegal Financing
• Cyberwarfare-Internet
• Famine
• Assymetric Warfare
• Extremist indoctrination
• Embassy bombings

• Assassinations
• Genocide
• Intimidation
• Propaganda
• Strategic Communications
• Information Operations
• Arms smuggling
• WMD
• Kidnapping
• Illegal trade / black market
• Ethnic cleansing

• Terrorism
• Coups
• Insurgency
• Suicide Bombers
• Piracy
• Drug trafficking
• Government Corruption
• Human slave trade
• Transnational crime
• Organized Crime

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QDR Linkage

• QDR 06
• IW has emerged as the dominant form of warfare
  confronting the United States, its allies and
  partners. Accordingly, guidance must account for
  distributed long-duration operations
• QDR IW Execution Roadmap (Apr, 2006)
• Short term mechanism to advance high priority
  issues through the FY 2008-2013 Defense program
• Focused solely on DOD efforts not USG

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IW the Enduring state

• IW is a violent struggle between state and
  non-state actors for legitimacy and influence
  over the relevant populations. IW favors
  indirect and asymmetric approaches, though it may
  employ the full range of military and other
  capabilities, in order to erode an adversarys
  power, influence and will.

• The term violent refers to the nature of the
  conflict, not the prescription for US response

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Strategic Considerations

• Why IW Out of Necessity
• Avoid negative consequences of Major Combat
  Operations
• Avoid direct confrontation
• Limit US involvement
• Complicate/undermine an adversarys strategic
  ambitions
• Whole of Government approach to US security
  interests
• Maximize impact of all elements of national power
• Synchronize global and regional efforts
• Prevent emergence of extremism
• Promote regional cooperation
• Promote a positive image of USG

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Neo-Clausewitz
Irregular Warfare
Effect Desired Enhance Good Governance or replace
Government
Non-State Actors
Population
Military
Effect Desired
Effect Desired
Enhance or
Gain or Erode Support
Render Irrelevant
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Irregular Warfare
Operations, Actions and Activities (OAAs) that
Comprise Irregular Warfare

• Unconventional Warfare
• Counter-Insurgency
• Counter-Terrorism
• Asymmetric Warfare
• Guerrilla Warfare
• Sabotage
• Subversion
• Foreign Internal Defense
• Covert and Clandestine Activities

• Stabilization, Security, Transition and
  Reconstruction
• Psychological Operations
• Civil Military Operations
• Strategic Communications
• Information Operations
• Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence
• Computer Network Attack
• Law Enforcement Activities
• Finance Activities

Within most campaigns, forces conduct
combinations of offensive, defensive, stability
operations.
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IW at the Different Levels of Conflict
In practice, most wars and campaigns are hybrids
of conventional and IW OAAs. The primary focus
of the OAAs gives the campaign its predominant
character.
Policy and Strategy focused on Enduring
influence on populations And U.S. and Allies
Interests
Strategic
IW Applicability
Plans and Campaigns implementing All elements of
national power
Operational
Non-traditional Integration And application
(Highest level of Transparency)
Tactical
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Key Elements of IW

• Focus Areas
• Employing conventional and non-conventional
  military capabilities in support of integrated
  USG and partner IW efforts to gain or maintain
  control or influence over a relevant population
• Conducting protracted campaigns to defeat
  adversary states through indirect methods and
  means
• Conducting protracted campaigns on a global scale
  to defeat non-state irregular threats
• As a supported effort, defeat IW threats
  independent of conventional means
• As a supported effort, defeat IW threats in
  combination with conventional means

• Emphasis
• Relevant Populations
• Indirect methods
• Protracted and global
• DOD plays an enabling rather than lead role

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IW Challenges

• USG
• Strategy that focuses whole government efforts
• Mechanism to plan and execute IW regional
  strategies OGA, IA and DOD
• Collaborative regional planning
• DOD
• Embracing the IW concept Paradigm shift
• Support to Interagency and OGA leadership role
  for regional planning
• Embrace coordinated GCC, OGA, Embassy, and
  Interagency regional efforts

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• Questions

IW is about a logical, long term approach to
applying all elements of national power to
achieve US national objectives and protect our
vital interests
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Irregular Campaign Planning
Overlapping and Combining Activities Regionally
Informational Delegitimize Criminal Gangs Restore
Rule of Law
Informational Delegitimize Warlords Recognize
Government Authority
Diplomatic Initiatives to Prevent Conditions
that allow extremism to emerge. Enable
Partners. Support good governance, rule of law,
respect for human rights.
Military FID Focus on Stabilizing Neighbors
Economic Development focus on stabilizing
neighbors Enhance Legitimate Commerce
Military UW FID Focus on By-With-Through
Diplomatic Focused Intervention
Economic Development Support for Partners
Sanction Antagonists
Economic Development to Address Causation Factors
Diplomatic Regional Initiatives to placate States
Different activities for different effects