A Good Piece
Military theory in the age of empire
by Justin Raimondo, November 30, 2009
".....In Algeria, a theater in which the war tactics recommended by Galula were carried out – in certain instances, by him personally – the French record was of brutality unmitigated by either decency or common sense. In order to cut the links between the insurgents and the populace, a large-scale resettlement program was carried out, leading to the massive disruption of Algerian society (and ultimately backfiring on the colonialists). Are we prepared to do this in Afghanistan?
Galula’s prescription for waging a successful counterinsurgency campaign was meant as practical advice for a decaying empire on how to shore up its crumbling defenses. France had just given up one of the last of its colonial outposts, in Indochina, making way for the Americans, and was stubbornly determined to hold on to Algeria, which was formally considered a department of France proper.
The massive repression practiced by the French and their colonists, the Pieds-Noirs, including periodic massacres of Muslim villages, was only partially successful, and the Algerians eventually won their independence. The military narrative, however, has it that the French won a military victory and could have retained their renegade province if only Paris had the requisite political will.
An American version of the same narrative informs a certain view of the Vietnam War, where – or so the legend goes – once again defeatist politicians got in the way of a military leadership that was on the verge of defeating the enemy. Obama is deathly afraid of being characterized in this way by Republicans – and pro-war Democrats – and this underlies much of the rhetoric about Afghanistan being a "war of necessity," i.e., a political necessity......."
Military theory in the age of empire
by Justin Raimondo, November 30, 2009
".....In Algeria, a theater in which the war tactics recommended by Galula were carried out – in certain instances, by him personally – the French record was of brutality unmitigated by either decency or common sense. In order to cut the links between the insurgents and the populace, a large-scale resettlement program was carried out, leading to the massive disruption of Algerian society (and ultimately backfiring on the colonialists). Are we prepared to do this in Afghanistan?
Galula’s prescription for waging a successful counterinsurgency campaign was meant as practical advice for a decaying empire on how to shore up its crumbling defenses. France had just given up one of the last of its colonial outposts, in Indochina, making way for the Americans, and was stubbornly determined to hold on to Algeria, which was formally considered a department of France proper.
The massive repression practiced by the French and their colonists, the Pieds-Noirs, including periodic massacres of Muslim villages, was only partially successful, and the Algerians eventually won their independence. The military narrative, however, has it that the French won a military victory and could have retained their renegade province if only Paris had the requisite political will.
An American version of the same narrative informs a certain view of the Vietnam War, where – or so the legend goes – once again defeatist politicians got in the way of a military leadership that was on the verge of defeating the enemy. Obama is deathly afraid of being characterized in this way by Republicans – and pro-war Democrats – and this underlies much of the rhetoric about Afghanistan being a "war of necessity," i.e., a political necessity......."
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