ortrait of the Centurion
part one: preparation for war
1. Need to adapt our military apparatus to modern warfare
2. modern warfare defined
3. An example of clandestine Warfare Organization
4. Terrorism - the principal weapon of modern warfare
5. identifying the adversary
6. defense of the territory
part two: political and military conduct of the war
7. direct action on the populations of cities
8. errors in fighting the Guerrilla
9. the problem of resources
10. conducting countergurilla operations
part three: carrying the war to the Enemy
11. the inadequacies of traditional warfare
12. modern warfare in enemy territory
portrate of the Centurion
French commanders
had to make political decisions
recieved no leadership from paris
they faught irregulars
highly personal dimension of combat
in indochine commanders swore oaths to protect loyal groups
this promise was not professional
it was a promise made to commrades in arms not to ideals
failure or reject became personal blemish of failure
impersonal warfare
a vestage of traditional obsolete warfare
traditionally the general public is not asked to take a side
the mcarthurist notion of "I will return" did not apply
Modern War
civilian allegiance is a vital objective
might and resource are useless without the confidence of the massses
torture
is the particular bane of a terrorist
just as anti aircraft fire is the bane of pilots
allthought the french subverted a communist force three times there size
they never cut of communist supply lines
part one: preparation for war
1. Need to adapt our military apparatus to modern warfare
defense of national territory
the wrong tool for the job
the army does not recognize the wpns used against it
thus it can not defend agaisnt or adopt the wpns necessary to win
like trying to kill a fly with a pile driver
organization as a tool
sympathy of the majority is not necessary for order
organization however is essential
2. modern warfare defined
modern warfare is not
subversive, revolutionary
victory is not expected from the clash of two armies
an adversary once beaten military often ressurects
modern warfare is
interlocking system of actions: political economic, psychological and military
goal is to overthrow established authority
aggressor method is to attack intrnal tensions: ideological, social, religious, economic
aggressors will emphasize grievances regardless of localization and lack of scope
secondary conflict will be exacerbated into generalized conflict
in modern warfare the target is not the enemy it is the population
modern war is a competition for the allegiance of the people
this presupposes that it has become too difficult to kill the enemy
the terrorist cell is able to offer protection on an individual level
the strategy of modern armies is to protect themselves in groups at a society al level
this is compounded by allies refusal to target civilians directly
modern warriors need to stop underestimating the enemy
traditionally soldiers have had a professional respect
though demanized they were not underestimated
3. An example of clandestine Warfare Organization
4. Terrorism - the principal weapon of modern warfare
terrorism
a weapon of warfare
aimed directly at inhabitants
goal is to increase the threat of violent death in all sphere of life
this creastes depression, isolation, and defenselessness
causes a loss of confidence in the state
it is only through joining the terrorists that he can remove this danger
terrorists
carryone warfare without uniform
target unarmed civilians
is protected by a clandestint organization
rarely encounter opposition
their targets
are not based on personal interest
targets are disseminated from a hierarchy
they kill without hatred and are indifferent
they fight for a cause that has a respectable ideal and is noble
goal of modern warfare
control of the populace
fights withint eh framework of an organization
handling a captured terrorist
retribution or suffering is not imposed
organization, locations and identities of superiors,
the social contract is different
unfair advantages
target the defenseless instead of the armed
allowed to remain invisible within the population
unfair comparisons
false dichotomy
however, all elements capable of blending in with the population have done so
if the americans could all look like hajis they would
the CIA does this
targeting the armed force is a function of resources not strategy
i question the link between terrorism and torture
the argument that unfair advanatages justify torture is unpursuasie
there are a myriad of unfair advanatages created by circumstance
it seems that forign armies deem this unfair because they can not employ the same strategy successfully
a more apt statement would be that any total war justifies terrorism
the link between total war and torture is clearer
total war, torture, and terrorism are all conflaited
to me this simply means that the geneva convention is void
war has become a competition to see who can terrorize the local population most verley
both sides exercise an economy of violence
violence is used very discriminatingly
however discrimination is based on strategic rather than moreal ground
torture quickly leads to diminishing returns as time goes on
once someone is apprehended the structure of the organization is quickly changed and cell members go into hiding
5. identifying the adversary
6. defense of the territory
part two: political and military conduct of the war
7. direct action on the populations of cities
8. errors in fighting the Guerrilla
9. the problem of resources
10. conducting countergurilla operations
part three: carrying the war to the Enemy
11. the inadequacies of traditional warfare
12. modern warfare in enemy territory
