Friday, June 19, 2015

Winning Irregular War: Conflict Geography

This might be a very useful resource.  The 685 page 10MB PDF can be downloaded at the link below.  Table of contents below;

Winning  Irregular War: Conflict Geography

by  Geoff Demerst


http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/Winning-Insurgent-War/WIrW_2015.pdf

 QUICK START: HOW TO READ THIS BOOK
You can take a traditional approach, reading the sections in numerical
sequence; or you can read the author’s preface, the first seven-fifteen sections,
then the last several, then the middle (say 68-76), then skip around.
Going backwards from 144 to 1 will work, or you can peruse the Contents
and go to whatever sections interest you, which I hope will be all of them.
Some of the sections have expansive titles like Legitimacy or Human
Rights. They aren’t intended to encapsulate those subjects, but just tie those
themes to the book’s central assertions. Other titles, like Dogs and Mules,
or Forts and Walls, or Poop are less abstract, but relate to the same assertions.
Those assertions, or propositions, include:
• An impunity-based definition of State success;
• Attention to anonymity as a competitive emphasis;
• Inventorying as an indispensable knowledge activity;
• Withdrawal and pursuit as key operational and strategic concepts;
• Deception as a compulsory element of strategic thinking;
• Geography as the academic discipline of choice;
• Property analysis as tool for exposing the distribution of power;
• Distance as a key variable in the measurement of relative power;
• Civil engineering and construction as noble activities;
• Personal dignity and honor as key quantities of a durable victory;
• Adaptation of classic strategy as operational artistry; and
• Formal property regimes as a basis of peaceful social compacts.
‘Winning’ means not just neutralizing your enemies, but doing so
without creating more of them. It may also mean building places that do not
create enemies.
Building such places requires that ideology, political philosophy,
epistemology, engineering, and shooting all get along, so the book assumes
these things cannot be distanced one from another. Below each section is a
joke, quotation, or piece of poetry. They are interrelated in a way similar to
the text, and with the text. They are like the fins on a `60 Cadillac.

CONTENTS
DEDICATION ............................................................................ p. iii
QUICK START ........................................................................... p. v
FOREWORD ............................................................................. p. vii
AUTHORS PREFACE ............................................................... p. ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................... p. xiii
CONTENTS ............................................................................... p. xv
LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS .............................. p. xxi
GLOSSARY ............................................................................ p. xxiii
RESTATEMENT ..................................................................... p. 567
SYNTHESIS ............................................................................ p. 569
APPENDIX: MISCELLANEOUS LISTS .............................. p. 573
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................... p. 585
ENDNOTES ............................................................................. p. 597 I
NDEX ..................................................................................... p. 621 A
BOUT THE AUTHOR ......................................................... p. 632 S
ECTIONS 1-144:
1, Impunity...executive strategy ......................................................... p. 1
2, Anonymity...operational art ........................................................... p. 4
3, The Domesday Book...executive strategy ....................................... p. 6
4, Defining Enemy...executive strategy ............................................ p. 11
5, Vocabulary of Classic Strategy...knowledge process .................... p. 14
6, The Operational Equation...operational art ................................. p. 19
7, Sanctuary...operational art ............................................................ p. 22
8, Linearity and the Line of Retreat...operational art ...................... p. 28
9, White Bird...historical vignette, Chief Joseph’s failed retreat ........... p. 31
10, Decisive Battle...operational art .................................................. p. 36
11, Protraction and Diligence...executive strategy .......................... p. 40
12, Commitment of the Reserve...operational art ........................... p. 44
13, Puthukkudiyirippu...historical vignette, Sri Lankan war .............. p. 46
14, Legitimacy...executive strategy ................................................... p. 52


15, NGOs, IOs, and Unions...environment ...................................... p. 56
16, Presence...operational art .......................................................... p. 62
17, Keeping Secrets...operational art ................................................ p. 65
18, Whole of Government...executive strategy ............................... p. 69
19, Mercatus...environment ............................................................. p. 73
20, Rule-of-Law...synthesis ............................................................. p. 79
21, Iximché…historical vignette, warfare in Guatemala circa 1982 ...... p. 83
22, Badassoftheweek.com…environment ....................................... p. 93
23, Mens Rea…environment ............................................................ p. 96
24, Ruthlessness and Resolve...environment ................................... p. 99
25, Why Humans Don’t Fight...environment ............................... p. 101
26, How Violent Groups Form...environment .............................. p. 105
27, ‘Nonviolent’ Action...operational art ........................................ p.110
28, Takeovers and Sieges...operational art ..................................... p. 116
29, Heavy Machines...executive strategy ....................................... p. 119
30, Control Technology...executive strategy .................................. p. 121
31, Holes in the Ground...operational art ...................................... p. 124
32, Land-use Planning...knowledge process .................................. p. 126
33, Engineers & Built Environment...environment ...................... p. 130
34, Urban or Rural...environment .................................................. p. 133
35, Comuna 13...historical vignette, a troubled borough in Medellín .. p. 137
36, The Denver Broncos...environment ......................................... p. 147
37, School Lunches...operational art .............................................. p. 151
38, Cultural Study for What?...knowledge process ........................ p. 153
39, Socioeconomic Causation...knowledge process ....................... p. 155
40, Popular Support...knowledge process ....................................... p. 159
41, Dear Westy...historical vignette, a letter to Gen. Westmoreland ... p. 163

42, Brigands...environment .......................................................... p. 170
43, Sam Spade’s Whereabouts...knowledge process ....................... p. 174
44, Political/Military/Administrative...executive strategy ............ p. 177
45, Police or Military...executive strategy ...................................... p. 180
46, Taxation and Debt...environment ............................................ p. 186
47, Why the County...knowledge process ...................................... p. 189
48, Grading the Social Compact...knowledge process ................... p. 192
49, Territorial Scrutiny...knowledge process ................................. p. 195
50, U.S. Persons...environment ...................................................... p. 200
51, Get Willy...historical vignette, manhunt in part of Colombia ........ p. 204
52, Sovereignty...knowledge process .............................................. p. 210
53, Hohfeldian Grievance Analysis...knowledge process .............. p. 215
54, Extortion...executive strategy ................................................... p. 220
55, Kidnapping...environment ........................................................ p. 223
56, Militias and Gun Control...executive strategy ......................... p. 225
57, Dogs and Mules...executive strategy ......................................... p. 231
58, Condottieri...executive strategy ................................................ p. 233
59, Spontaneity...environment ....................................................... p. 235
60, War Nouveau...historical vignette, the world circa 1900 ............. p. 239
61, The Geography of Dope...environment ................................... p. 248
62, Bank Robbery...environment ................................................... p. 255
63, Roadblocks and Checkpoints...operational art ........................ p. 258
64, Measuring Distance and Comparing Power ...knlg process . p. 262
65, Smuggling...environment ......................................................... p. 268
66, GIS...knowledge process ............................................................ p. 271
67, Points, Lines, Spaces...knowledge process ................................ p. 275

68, Scale...knowledge process ........................................................... p. 277
69, Measuring Effects of Actions on Enemies...knowledge process . p. 281
70, Measuring Effects of Actions on Structure..knowledge process p. 288
71, Jerusalem...historical vignette, the Zionists create a nation state ...... p. 293
72, Land Strategy...executive strategy ............................................... p. 300
73, Property and the Social Compact...ideology ............................. p. 306
74, Refugees and Displaced Persons...environment ......................... p. 313
75, The Price of Real Estate, and Tourism...knowledge process ...... p. 316
76, Gender...environment ................................................................. p. 319
77, Sex...environment ........................................................................ p. 322
78, Identity... knowledge process ..................................................... p. 326
79, Suicide... moral compass ............................................................ p. 330
80, Why You Should Like Geography...knowledge process ........... p. 333
81, What a Clergy Wants...environment .......................................... p. 336
82, Conflict Thresholds...knowledge process .................................... p. 339
83, Why Are Irregular Wars Lost?...synthesis ............................... p. 343
84, Cultures of Violence...environment .......................................... p. 345
85, Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck...historical vignette ............... p. 348
86, Shifting Covet-geographies....environment .............................. p. 354
87, Water Wars...environment ....................................................... p. 356
88, Escape Geography...operational art .......................................... p. 359
89, The Dot Game and Go...operational art .................................... p. 362
90, Prisons & Prisoners....operational art ....................................... p. 364
91, Forts and Walls….operational art ............................................. p. 366
92, Graves Registration...environment ........................................... p. 371
93, Diseases and Disasters...environment ....................................... p. 375

94, Poop...environment.................................................................... p. 379
95, Childhood...moral compass ..................................................... p. 381
96, Combatant Status...executive strategy ..................................... p. 384
97, Oviedo...historical vignette, start of Spanish Civil War ............ p. 386
98, Jorge Verstrynge and Pio Moa...ideology ................................ p. 395
99, Postmodern and Post-structural...ideology ............................. p. 399
100, What the Foucault?...ideology .............................................. p. 404
101, Magical Realism...knowledge process .................................... p. 408
102, Negotiations...executive strategy ........................................... p. 412
103, Amnesty...executive strategy ................................................. p. 415
104, Extraterritorial Jurisdiction...environment ............................ p. 419
105, Genocide Geography...knowledge process ............................ p. 422
106, Massacres...historical vignette, repugnancy ............................ p. 428
107, Guerre d'Algérie...historical vignette, Algerian War .............. p. 434
108, Common Knowledge...knowledge process ............................ p. 443
109, Your Staff Work Sucks...knowledge process ......................... p. 446
110, Knowledge Gaps...knowledge process ................................... p. 450
111, Knowledge Cultures...knowledge process ............................. p. 454
112, DIME and PMECII...knowledge process ............................... p. 460
113, Unrestricted Chi Whiz...executive strategy ........................... p. 465
114, R.V. Jones...knowledge process .............................................. p. 467
115, Academies...executive strategy .............................................. p. 469
116, Songs of Chu...operational art ................................................ p. 471
117, Strategic Communication...executive strategy....................... p. 473
118, Democracy...ideology ............................................................ p. 475
119, Declaration of Counterinsurgency...moral compass ............. p. 479

Montana circa 1878 ............................................................... p. 35
Sri Lanka circa 2006 ............................................................. p. 51
Bolivia, La Paz and El Alto .................................................. p. 61
Guatemalan Highlands circa 1982 ....................................... p. 92
Comuna 13, Medellín, Colombia circa 2002 ..................... p. 146
Hell with Limbo (Purgatory?) circa 1300 ......................... p. 188
Yoknapatawpha circa 1936 ................................................ p. 191
South-central Colombia circa 2012 .................................... p. 209
World Map circa 1900 ........................................................ p. 247
Palestine circa 1920 ............................................................. p. 299
East Africa circa 1914-1918 ................................................ p. 353
The Revolution of ’34 in Asturias ...................................... p. 394
Colombia, various locations ................................................ p. 433
French Algeria circa 1954-1962 ......................................... p. 442
Europe circa 1805 ................................................................ p. 490
Kansas-Missouri Border circa 1858................................... p. 508
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousDecember 9, 2015 at 9:04 AM

    Dave, this is a great website. I confess it is the first time I’ve visited it, and I thank you for posting WIrW. Yes, there exists the Internet, but it doesn’t always do what I want it to do, even when I ask through trusted nerd-agents. Maybe it’s on to me, or maybe it’s got better things to do, I don’t know. Anyhow, I update and improve WIrW now-and-then. Nothing revolutionary, but I’ve tried to un-jack up jacked up details and re-write a few sections that worthy people have pointed out were even more underwhelming than others. I also added a few more flourishes including quotes from Princess Bride, and how I had left them out previously I don’t know. In any case, the latest version can be identified by the presence of the word terrorism as a separately listed entry in the index. If that word is not present in the index, it is not the latest and greatest as of December 9, 2015. The link you offer seems to be going to the newest version, at least from Firefox. (Of course, or at least so I’ve heard, on the east coast your Internet is more progressive than it is here in the hinterlands.) All this warfare stuff is important and interesting and all, but hey…it’s not THAT important. Amiright? I wish you and your family and your students and bloggers a Merry Christmas. Geoff Demarest

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