Synopses & Reviews
At the beginning of the 1990s it seemed unimaginable that tribes and clans... had any place in the new world of globalism. And yet, a short decade later many watched in disbelief as tribes moved to center stage in the U.S. war against international terrorism. -- from Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias
Beginning in the 1990s, conventional militaries and their political leaders confronted a new type of warfare, one they were not prepared for or expecting. Hopes for a stable, peaceful, post-Cold War world were dashed and replaced by the brutal realities of combat in Iraq, Somalia, Chechnya, and Afghanistan. Terrorists, clans, and tribal groups, with their own military traditions, became the new foes of conventional state-based forces. In this new work, Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew explain the resurgence and successes of traditional warriors in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. They show that by underestimating the threat of non-state armed groups and failing to understand their cultural beliefs or adapt to their way of fighting, conventional forces have suffered and will continue to suffer military and political defeat.
From Mogadishu and the Sunni triangle to Grozny and the mountains of Afghanistan, the authors describe and analyze the tactics and strategies of non-state armed groups. They explain how decentralized organizational structures, asymmetrical warfare, and an intimate knowledge of the terrain have aided these groups in fighting against larger, technologically superior conventional forces. The authors also consider the historical, cultural, and anthropological factors that shape the motivations, mores, and tactics of traditionalwarriors.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the threat that insurgents, terrorists, and militias pose is both growing and changing in nature. Friendly states and outside organizations like al-Qaeda serve as powerful allies to these groups, many of whom are showing an increasing willingness to kill civilians, use weapons of mass destruction, and expand their areas of operation. By developing a richer understanding of the history, culture, and military strategy of their enemies, states will be better able to respond to these new threats and prevent future bloodshed and political chaos.
Synopsis
Since the end of the Cold War, conventional militaries and their political leaders have confronted a new, brutal type of warfare in which non-state armed groups use asymmetrical tactics to successfully fight larger, technologically superior forces. In order to prevent future bloodshed and political chaos, it is crucial to understand how these unconventional armed groups think and to adapt to their methods of combat.
Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew investigate the history and politics of modern asymmetrical warfare. By focusing on four specific hotbeds of instability--Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq--Shultz and Dew conduct a careful analysis of tribal culture and the value of clan associations. They examine why these traditional or tribal warriors fight, how they recruit, where they find sanctuary, and what is behind their strategy. Traveling across two centuries and several continents, Shultz and Dew examine the doctrinal, tactical, and strategic advantages and consider the historical, cultural, and anthropological factors behind the motivation and success of the warriors of contemporary combat.
In their provocative argument, Shultz and Dew propose that war in the post-Cold War era cannot be waged through traditional Western methods of combat, especially when friendly states and outside organizations like al-Qaeda serve as powerful allies to the enemy. Thoroughly researched and highly readable, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias examines how non-state armies fight, identifies the patterns and trends of their combat, and recommends how conventional militaries can defeat these irregular yet highly effective organizations.