This appendix will outline nine of the most important characteristics of COIN war and contrast them with traditional war, in order to better demonstrate the differences and complexity of Counter-Insurgency (COIN) warfare in comparison with conventional warfare, as referred to in the previous blog ‘ISAF APPENDIX 2 – Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Warfare: Definitions, Political Nature & 5 False Expectations’. These nine characteristics include: (1) the basic nature of the war; (2) aim of the war;
(3) focus of the war; (4) traditional or non-traditional objectives and operations; (5) the role of armed forces in the war; (6) the role of military technology in the war; (7) defining and measuring “success” in the war; (8) the final “end point” in the war; and lastly, (9) the duration of the war campaign.
ISAF – COIN APPENDIX 1 – Insurgency: History, Definitions, Characteristics, Psychological Nature, Warfare & Life Cycle
In a previous blog ‘#31 BACKGROUND – COIN Warfare & the ISAF’s COIN Strategy: Battle for the Majority Population’, I briefly outlined the central theoretical doctrine and most important principles of Counter-Insurgency (COIN) warfare. This appendix consists of a more in-depth examination of insurgencies and is offered in the hope of supplying important additional information to political and military practitioners, with regard to insurgent armed rebellions and the politico-military counter-insurgency warfare required by governing authorities and their civilian and military forces to quell them. In particular, this appendix will address: (1) insurgency as a common form of warfare in human history; (2) several definitions of insurgency; (3) the central characteristics of insurgencies; (4) the psychological nature of insurgency warfare, and the 4 psychological effects insurgents seek to inflict on established governing authorities; (5) the 3 main forms of warfare used by insurgents, namely terrorism, guerrilla tactics and conventional war; (6) the life cycle of an insurgency, from beginning to end; and lastly (7) the inherent uniqueness of each particular insurgency.