Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Irregular Warfare:
Terrorism and Insurgency
(DUS 2022)
Prepared by:
Mior Roslan bin Mior Mohd Jaafar
23rd March 2011
Irregular Warfare:
Terrorism and Insurgency
Irregular Warfare:
Terrorism and Insurgency
Related Terminology
Definitions
Terrorism : the sustained
(continued) use of violence against
symbolic or civilian targets by small
groups for political purpose, such as
inspiring fear, drawing widespread
attention to a political grievance,
and/or provoking a draconian (zalim)
or unsustainable (tidak boleh
bertahan) response..
Two examples
The bombings conducted by anarchists against
monarch in late 19th century and early 20th Century
is considered as act of terrorism because their stated
objective was to change the political environment
The pizza bomber in 2004 in Pennsylvania was
considered as criminal act because the motivation
was financial gain
The motives is politic- who will recognize them
Terrorist seek attention for their cause to generate
domestic and international empathy (sympathy)- for
the reason why they take up arms
Definition
The problem of defining Insurgency
Insurgency is not conventional war or
terrorism
But it use force to achieve political end
The difference between terrorism and
insurgency is the scope and scale of the
violence
Insurgency attempts to effect political
change through force of arms where as
terrorism cannot effect change on its own.
Time
Time is the most important element
to ensure success of an insurgent
and terrorist campaign
This is a commodity to make up for
other weaknesses
Malayan Emergency 40 years
through negotiation
LTTE 35 years
Space
Space allow irregulars to decide where and when to fight.
If their enemy appears in big numbers, they make use of
space to withdraw and fight when the odds are in their
favour
The defending forces cannot be every where at once , this
can make their forces too thinly and open to guerilla forces
Guerilla exploit the formidable (difficult) terrain to their
advantage to offset technological advantage of enemy
Example-Mujahiddin used this Afghan terrain to fight the
USSR, Vietcong use the jungle landscape to fight the US
Urban Terrain also can be difficult eg Chechen guerilla
using building and narrow roads to offset their weaknesses
Support
Support is a very important element
Insurgent needs supply, ammunitions,
intelligence, medical supply etc..
Violence without political purpose will
generate little support
Without support insurgent or terrorist will
succumb to the efforts of the state.
Insurgent or terrorist can look for support
from domestic and external sympathizer
Ligitimacy
Insurgents and terrorists fighting irregular wars
require internal and external support to sustain their
struggle
They often seek to legitimize their use of violence,
obtain support for their cause, supplanting the
function of the stae at the local level
Moral superiority of the guerillas is a cornerstone of
all irregular and terrorists theory
Mao introduce the code of conduct for the guerilla
known as The three rules and Eight remarks as a
way to demonstrate their moral superiority
Key Points
Time is important element in the
success of insurgencies
Terrain is important to offset
weaknesses and gain tactical advantage
including force-to-space superiority
Support is dependent on legitimacyderived internally or externally
Moral justification provides the cornerstone to sustain the struggle.
Eradication
Eradication involves the physical
destruction of the insurgents or
terrorist. According to Robert Taber
extermination and turning the
territory harboring resistance into
desert
The eradication of insurgent is often
a slow process and will take different
forms in different political and
Conclusion
States will be plagued (jangkiti) by terrorism and
irregular warfare as long as individual are willing to
use violence for political purpose
Terrorism and irregular warfare have been used to
change political system and acquire power
Religion,Culture, ethnicity and technology remain
important elements of irregular warfare
The use of irregular method of war is to achieve
political result e.g. redress political imbalance.
Terrorist use of WMD is very frightening-e.g. Shoko
Asahara the spiritual leader of Aum Shinrikyo cultchemical and biological agent