There is an ongoing debate within the Special Forces community whether unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense are applicable in the contemporary and future Special Operations environments, based on current doctrinal definitions and operational concepts. For unconventional warfare, the debate surrounds its current broad and confusing definition and whether it can be an overarching term for efforts against nonstate actors in the Global War on Terrorism. The foreign internal defense debate is not over definitions, but responsibilities, as the conventional military begins to play a larger role in foreign internal defense, a legacy Special Forces mission. This thesis argues that unconventional warfare needs a clear and concise definition, such as 'operations by a state or nonstate actor to support an insurgency aimed at the overthrow of a government or occupying power,' that unconventional warfare should not be 'transformed' to fight global insurgency; that there is an identifiable relationship between unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense called the 'transition point' signifying the change from unconventional warfare to foreign internal defense, and that this relationship can be modeled; that operational preparation of the environment is not unconventional warfare, but an emerging operation requiring its own doctrine; and that unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and operational preparation of the environment will be the dominant Special Forces missions in the Global War on Terrorism.
Ending the Debate: Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense, and Why Words Matter
2006
208 pages
Report
No indication
English
Education, Law, & Humanities , Military Intelligence , Military Operations, Strategy, & Tactics , Military intelligence , Military history , Military doctrine , Unconventional warfare , Covert operations , Special operations forces , Department of defense , Counterterrorism , Eastern europe , Afghanistan , Persian gulf war , First world war , South vietnam , North vietnam , Laos , El salvador , Paramilitary forces , Counterinsurgency , Counterintelligence , Tibet , Iraqi war , Second world war , Philippines , Nicaragua , Korea , Theses , Case studies , Missions , Cuba , Foreign internal defense , Nonstate actors , Gwot(Global war on terrorism) , Joint doctrine , Cia(Central intelligence agency) , Oss(Office of strategic services) , Enduring freedom operation , Iraqi freedom operation , Logical lines of operation , Soe(Special operations executive) , British secret intelligence service , Mi6 , Major lawrence grand , Lt colonel j c f holland , Sir colin gubbins , Dr hugh dalton , Jedburghs , Detachment 101 , Operational groups
NTIS | 1964
|Unconventional Warfare Bibliography: Supplement No. 6
NTIS | 1965
|Mass Surveillance, Drones, and Unconventional Warfare
DataCite | 2015
|Unconventional Warfare Bibliography, Supplement No. 5
NTIS | 1965
|Whither Aviation Foreign Internal Defense?
Online Contents | 1997
|