%0 Journal Article
%T Fighting against Irregular Forces: Afghanistan as Test Case
%A Tal Tovy
%J Military and Strategic Affairs
%D 2011
%I Institute for National Security Studies
%X America¡¯s involvement in Afghanistan since late 2001 (Operation Enduring Freedom) is an excellent example of the highly problematic nature of  ghting against irregular forces in a state with a long history of instability.This essay analyzes the factors behind Afghanistan¡¯s instability and argues that understanding them can explain the political and military dif culty in destroying irregular forces that share a strong ideology and operate in a given geographical arena. This essay does not purport to offer solutions or recommendations for action; rather, it claims that the primary and most basic action a state must undertake when embarking on a confrontation with irregular forces in a given geographical setting is to understand the history of the region. Such an understanding will allow it to assess how local history has created a political, social, and economic system that is a convenient base for a guerrilla activity grounded in a  rm ideological base. The essay claims that understanding the area politically, socially, and demographically allows for the formulation of a strategy and varied modi operandi for defeating the guerrilla forces.
%K guerilla forces
%K Afghanistan
%K United States
%K Taliban
%K Pakistan
%K Vietnam War
%K Soviet Union
%K counterinsurgency
%K COIN
%K Mao Zadong
%K ideology
%U http://www.inss.org.il.cdn.reblaze.com/upload/(FILE)1326273560.pdf