3 Tactical basis

The tactical success of asymmetric warfare is dependent on at least one of two assumptions:

• If the inferior power is in a position of self-defense; i.e., under attack or occupation, it may be possible to use unconventional tactics, such as hit-and-run and selective battles where the superior power is weaker, as an effective means of harassment without violating the Laws of warThe laws of war Jus in bello define the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons usually meaning civilians. The laws of war are mandatory fo. Variations of this tactic succeeded for the North Vietnamese and its allied forces in the Vietnam war, in that the local forces did not win the war by a straightforward defeat of the US forces, but rather tired out the superior power. Similar tactics worked for the American colonists in the American revolutionary war and the Soviet partisansPartisan may refer to: A member of a lightly-equipped irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. In this context, the term very often refers to the resistance movements that opposed Nazi do against GermanThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east occupation on the Eastern Front during World War II. It should be noted, however, that in these cases, traditional battles were also fought in addition to guerilla tactics.

• If the inferior power is in an aggressive position, however, and/or turns to tactics prohibited by the laws of war ( jus in bello), its success depends on the superior power's refraining from like tactics. For example, the Law of land warfare prohibits the use of using a flag of truce or clearly marked medical vehicles as cover for an attack or ambush, but an asymmetric combatant using this prohibited tactic depends on the superior power's honoring the corresponding rules prohibiting attacking those displaying a flag of truce or a medical vehicle. Similarly, laws of warfare prohibit combatants using civilian settlements, populations or facilities as military bases, but when an inferior power uses this tactic, it depends on the superior power respecting the law that they are violating, and not attacking that civilian target.

4 The use of terrain in asymmetric warfare

Terrain can be used as a force multiplier by the weaker force and as a force inhibitor against the stronger force.

Guerrilla warfare can be classified into two main categories: urban guerrilla warfare and rural guerrilla warfare. In both cases, guerrillas rely on a friendly population to provide supplies and intelligence.

"The guerrillas must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea."

- Mao Tse-Tung.

Rural guerrillas prefer to operate in regions providing plenty of cover and concealment, especially heavily forested and mountainous areas. Urban guerrillas, rather than melting into the mountains and jungles, blend into the population and are dependent on a support base among the people.

"The contour of the land is an aid to the army; sizing up opponents to determine victory, assessing dangers and distances..." ... "...those who do battle without knowing these will lose."

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

For a detailed description of the advantages for the weaker force in the use of built up areas when engaging asymmetric warfare see the article on urban warfare.

5 Asymmetric warfare and terrorism

Asymmetric warfare is not synonymous with terrorism; rather, terrorism is sometimes used as a tactic by the weaker side in an asymmetric conflict. Terrorism is sometimes called asymmetric warfare by advocates for partisans using terrorist methods to avoid the pejorative connotations of the word.

6 War by proxy

Where asymmetric warfare is carried out (generally covertly) by allegedly non-governmental actors who are connected to or sympathetic to a particular nation's (the "state actor's") interest, it may be deemed war by proxy. This is typically done to give deniability to the state actor. The deniability can be important to keep the state actor from being tainted by the actions, to allow the state actor to negotiate in apparent good faith by claiming they are not responsible for the actions of parties who are merely sympathizers, or to avoid being accused of belligerent actions or war crimes.

An example of war by proxy was East Germany's covert support for the Red Army Faction (RAF) which was active from 1968 and carried out a succession of terrorist attacks in West Germany during the 1970s and to a lesser extent in the 1980s. After German reunification in 1990, it was discovered that the RAF had received financial and logistic support from the Stasi, the security and intelligence organization of East Germany. It had also given several RAF terrorists shelter and new identities. It had not been in the interests of either the RAF or the East Germans to be seen as co-operating. The apologists for the RAF argued that they were striving for a true socialist (communist) society not the sort that existed in Eastern Europe. The East German government were involved in Ostpolitik, and it was not in its interest to be caught overtly aiding a terrorist organisation operating in West Germany. For more details see the History of Germany since 1945.

The war between the mujahadeen and the Red Army during Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a classic asymmetric war. The aid given by US to the mujahadeen during the war was only covert at the tactical level, the Reagan Administration was only too pleased to be able to tell the world that it was helping the freedom loving people of Afghanistan. Of all the proxy wars fought by the USA against the USSR during the Cold War this was the most cost effective and politically successful, as it was the USSR's most humiliating military defeat, and that defeat was a contributing factor to the implosion of Soviet communism.

Another example of war by proxy is the multi-national presence of Al-Qaida, accused of carrying out the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and many other terrorist attacks worldwide. The organization had been (and may still be) headquartered in Afghanistan, but apparently has members and operatives in many countries. The argument is proposed that this prevents an aggrieved nation from launching a military attack within a nation harboring Al-Qaida members since such a nation can argue that Al-Qaida might be within its borders but is an independent organization which the government does not support, whether or not the government sympathizes with their cause. The counter-argument is that Al-Qaida members and other international terror groups do not exist in "disembodied space" or in international territory (i.e., the open seas, as pirates were claimed to do) but within the borders of a sovereign state, which is responsible to capture or expel members of such groups, or to allow aggrieved nations to attack them.

7 Not the end of conventional war

Throughout the 20th century, for small scale conflicts, armies relied increasingly on tactics of the guerilla, spy, saboteur, provocateur, double agent, even terrorist and assassin. This underscored that the advantages of having no tactical unit organization were greater than the control such units provide:

"Therefore when you induce others to construct a formation while you yourself are formless, then you are concentrated while the opponent is divided... Therefore the consummation of forming an army is to arrive at formlessness. When you have no form, undercover espionage cannot find out anything, intelligence cannot form a strategy."

- Sun Tzu The Art of War

(Alternately: "The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless. When it is formless, the deepest spy cannot discern it, nor the wise make plans against it.")

Nonetheless, large scale conflicts remain the province of tightly organized armies, as evidenced most recently, in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

However, the 2003 invasion of Iraq campaign has now moved into an asymmetric warfare phase as US alliance and coalition forces battle an insurgency by Iraqi and foreign militants. See 2003 Occupation of Iraq

8 The 21st century millitary buildup

Asymmetric warfare has also had a direct influence on the modern countries' strategic buildup. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the leading military buildup strategy was mainly armored army vs. army combats (composed primarily of armored tanks and artilery) where the leading methodology was the western's quality vs. the eastern's quantity.

The collapse of the Soviet Union caused a pardigim shift in which the eastern countries couldn't rely on a strong supremacy to back them up. Today the strategic buildup in the West is mainly composed of strong hi-tech military components (focused more on air superiority and advanced long-ranged weapons and less on tanks and APCs) while the East relies more on guerilla tactics (small ground commando-like units) and extending current existing millitary platforms instead of buying new ones.

9 Morality of Asymetric Warfare

In the classic rules of war, in particular in many of the Christian and Catholic theological systems, asymmetric warfare is completely moral in and of itself, all other rules of war being obeyed. This entails:

• Civilians cannot be attacked (thus terrorism is outlawed)
• The war is a properly declared war, with an accountable authority on both sides who can also put an end to the war

10 See also

• Counter terror
• Khobar Towers bombing
• Low-intensity operations
• Military_use_of_children
• USS Cole bombing

11 References

• Robert B. Asprey , "War in the Shadows, The Guerilla in History", William Morrow, 1994, BooksEnthsiast.com 1279 pages. Authoritative survey from Darius the Great to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
• Robert Kaplan , "The Coming Anarchy", The Atlantic Monthly, 1994?
• Barbara Tuchman, "The Proud Tower, Europe 1880-1914" re: anarchist assassins
• UN reports on use of child soldiers as assassins
• Sun Tzu 6

12 External links

Warfare

<Hide>