The Australian Army Journal Special Edition: Counterinsurgency
Australian Army Journal Special Edition: Counterinsurgency
This edition of the Australian Army Journal marks a departure from established practice in that it is a thematic edition dedicated exclusively to the issue of counterinsurgency warfare. Since the end of the Cold War military professionals, scholars and policy-makers alike have pondered the changing character of war. Consensus has proved elusive…
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The pressing importance of understanding counterinsurgency led the Chief of Army to direct the urgent rewriting of Australian Army doctrine for counterinsurgency. In February this year he convened a two-day seminar to frame an authors’ brief to inform the doctrine writing team. This task is now being undertaken against a tight schedule. That is the reason that this edition of the Australian Army Journal is a thematic special edition. It also explains why we have expedited its production, in an effort to stimulate thinking across the Army about this important issue.
Accordingly, a number of qualifications need to be expressed. This issue is built around a significant number of articles expressly reprinted from foreign military journals. This does not reflect a want of confidence in the calibre of our own officers and soldiers. Nor will it become the standard practice of the Australian Army Journal, which is committed to maintaining its authentic Australian voice. We hope that Australian readers will read these articles with a critical attitude and ponder their validity in the light of their own experiences of current operations, before writing their own opinions for this Journal.
It would, however, be parochial in the extreme not to acknowledge the vast experience that our allies have accumulated over the past few years. For that reason we have sought the views of some of the leading experts in this field from other nations. We are honoured to publish the views of General David Petraeus and Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, whose contributions in this area are without peer. Likewise, the expertise of Ian Beckett and Stephen Metz—highly esteemed scholars both—are valuable additions to this Journal.
Furthermore, there is a distinct land bias in this edition. As Major General Molan emphasises, successful counterinsurgency demands seamless orchestration of joint effects. And the Chief of Army stresses that the multi-agency, comprehensive approach is vital to counterinsurgency, which requires more intimate coordination of political effects than other forms of warfare. The absence of RAN, RAAF, AFP or NGO perspectives from this edition does not imply a lack of recognition of their fundamental importance to effective counterinsurgency operations. However, this edition has been compiled within the serious time constraints applicable to the doctrine writers. In the interests of publishing this contribution in time to be of any relevance to the Army, we necessarily focused on our primary audience…
Table of Contents:
Historical Context
Australia’s Counterinsurgencies: A Brief History by Jeff Grey
New Challenges and Old Concepts: Understanding 21st Century Insurgency by Steven Metz
Back to the Future: The Enduring Characteristics of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency by Lieutenant Colonel Mark O’Neill
Current Operations
Learning Counterinsurgency: Observations from Soldiering in Iraq by Lieutenant General David H Petraeus
Anbar Awakens: The Tipping Point by Major Niel Smith and Colonel Sean Macfarland
Combating a Modern Insurgency: Combined Task Force Devil in Afghanistan by Colonel Patrick Donahue and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Fenzel
Joint/Combined Arms
Not Quite Counterinsurgency: A Cautionary Tale for US Forces Based on Israel’s Operation Change of Direction by Captain Daniel Helmer
Canadian Armour in Afghanistan by Major Trevor Cadieu, CD
Air Power’s Illusion? Israel’s 2006 Campaign in the Lebanon by Group Captain Neville Parton
Intellectual Challenges
On War: Lessons to be Learned by Colonel H R McMaster
Post-Modern Challenges for Modern Warriors by Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely
Doctrine
Defeating Insurgencies: Adaptive Campaigning and an Australian Way of War by Lieutenant Colonel Trent Scott
Thoughts of a Practitioner: A Contribution to Australia’s Counterinsurgency Doctrine Drafters by Major General Jim Molan
Task Force Ranger Vs. Urban Somali Guerrillas in Mogadishu: An Analysis of Guerrilla and Counterguerrilla Tactics and Techniques Used During Operation Gothic Serpent by Marshall V Ecklund
The Future
The Future of Insurgency by Ian Beckett
