American Counterinsurgency Examples

An example of the United States implementing indirect methods for its counterinsurgency efforts is Dr. Carter Malkasian’s time in Afghanistan. As part of the State Department, Malkasian took the time to understand the issues facing the Garmser district. He learned and employed the local language, Pashto, and made a point of replicating his lifestyle to that of his host district. More importantly, he sought to know the Afghani tribal leaders and their families. His actions gained the trust of the Afghani tribal leaders and their people, an intangible yet invaluable aspect of conducting successful counterinsurgency operations. In this respect, Malkasian acted similarly to the Roman soldiers sent out to Romanize populations on the periphery of

States rely on the use of force to counter insurgent movements because it achieves easily measureable objectives, such as combat-related body counts and amount of territory held by each side. Rome, France, and The United States used it to varying degrees. When Rome and France used force, they withheld little. When the United States uses it, it does so to target insurgents, protect the counterinsurgent forces and the people in the insurgency’s area of operations. All three actors relied upon the use of force because they viewed it as a simple, yet narrow way to measure success after it was employed. States revert to the use of force because it of its simplicity: when enough force is applied to a smaller group attempting to disrupt the current political order, the smaller group either ceases to exist or is too dispersed to use force against the state

By working within the political situation and attempting to improve it, counterinsurgent forces can reduce motivations for participation in insurgent movements. This is what Rome did when it created client kingdoms. Local kings continued their governing practices while supporting Roman rule through taxes and troops. By not overthrowing the local government and imposing Roman rule, law, and culture upon a population, Rome avoided political upheaval and diminished the likelihood that an insurgency would arise in its periphery.

Reducing social factors that drive people to join insurgencies means counterinsurgents are working change the probability that individuals feel ostracized from their communities. This is what the Romans did with their Romanization approach in various locales. By spreading Roman culture to populations on Rome’s periphery, the Romans expanded their community. It also helped that those same populations sought to emulate Rome’s culture. Omar Hammami, the “jihadist next door”, is an example of what happens when individuals feel ostracized from their communities. Hammami, born and raised in the United States, seemed the least likely to join ISIS. Over time though, he felt as if he did not belong in his community, which