CounterInsurgancies

Kirk's Raider's

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Right now I am watching an excellent documentary featuring six former leaders if the Israeli Shin Bet which is the internal security agency of Israel. The documentary is "The Gatekeepers". Shin Bet has been involved in counterinsurgency since 1948 although the documentary concentrates on counterinsurgency from 1967 to the present. Counterinsurgency is not simple at at best is highly complicated. This is a must see documentary.
 
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Kirk's Raider's

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sai:
Anyone else keeping an eye on the situation with Iran’s Islamic revolutionary guard, talk about insurgents, the IRGC have been chucking money at Hezbollah and local insurgents and to top it off Iran are at risk of becoming even more isolated, I predict an increase in attacks on U.S targets and I wouldn’t put it past them to create havoc with cyber warfare...scary times folks.
Hezbollah is arguably not an insurgent group. Hezbollah is a legal political party in Lebanon and in fact when the Lebanese Civil War was officially ended was the only Lebanese political party allowed to have an armed militia. In fact they are the largest political party in Lebanon because the once majority Christian Maronite population has been greatly reduced as they joined the Lebanese Diaspora. Hezbollah is the only Arab force that has enjoyed victory over the Israelis in the 2006 Summer War vs the Egyptian and Syrian Army which enjoyed victories against Israel early in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Lebanon is unique in the sense that a political party has a Militia that is more powerful then the official armed forces of Lebanon.
The real threat to Western and Sunni Muslim Gulf States interests is the Civil War in Yemen. That is a very complex war and the Sunni Muslim nations in particular Saudi Arabia have murdered thousands of civilians in bombings plus there is widespread famine and disease such has Cholera.
Isolation works both ways. China used to import at least ten thousand barrels of oil per day from Iran. China is threatened with sanctions from the US making it more difficult to earn foreign currency to purchase oil.
If Iran suffers massive economic disruption or even collapse due to it's inability to export petroleum then it has no incentive to not cut off other nations petroleum exports in the Persian Gulf.
President Trump as some observers have stated as forced a dangerous rat in a corner
and should not be surprised if the rat bites back.
For sure the US which absolutely lost the counterinsurgency war in Iraq in no way can physically occupy the much more populated nation of Iran.
 
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I just saw,an interesting video from Journey Man Pictures "Taliban behind the Mask" a Western reporter actually was able to spend a few weeks with a Taliban unit in Eastern Afghanistan in 2010.
L
 

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[quote said:
my point really was that the IRGC will fund insurgents along with weapons and training, the IRGC has an infrastructure aimed specifically at promoting insurgent operations. The issue is that Trump has told the rest of the world that if they trade or buy oil from Iran, then they will also face trade sanctions with the USA, he’s basically challenged various nations to pick sides, Iran will no doubt be compiling a list of targets, any country that ops to look after its trade with the USA will become a legitimate target, hence my thoughts that we will see an increase in insurgents and terrorist operations, I’m probably stating the obvious because we’ve seen this happen before, it will be interesting to see how or where the cyber attacks will happen...
[/quote]
President Trump backed out of an agreement that the US has signed with Iran concerning nuclear weapons development and I ran was in compliance.
Iran is in a very difficult position as it's economy is in free fall despite compiling with the agreement.
Not sure why Iran should trust the United States. If the trade sanctions are not lifted then Iran has but no choice to go down fighting. Bad policy produces bad results.
Iran is certainly not a beacon of human rights but the US has tolerated other regimes with worse human rights records.
 
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A somewhat new wrinkle in Insurgency is they can fund themselves . For example the UNITA guerrillas in Angola sold diamond's and ivory after the South Africa withdrew support after the peace agreement signed with Angola and Cuba.
Today per an NPR report ethnic Rebels in Myanmar earn a staggering 60 billion year producing methamphetamine.
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A really good TV series on counterinsurgency was the 1980s British TV series " contact " about the British Army in Northern Ireland.
The best movie on counterinsurgency is " the Battle of Algiers" made in 1965 about the urban battle of Algiers from 1955 to 1956. This movie was required viewing at the Pentagon after the Invasion of Iraq. This movie has been viewed by countless guerrillas and terrorists.
It is practically an instruction manual in how to wage and fight an insurgency.
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I can't seem to find the British TV series "Contact" it was produced by the BBC .
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jgoodguy

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Good job!. I will try to contact the above organization. YouTube did have an episode of a British Army patrol in South Aramagh. It appeared to be very accurate.
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This
South Armagh - "Bandit Country" (1976) - YouTube
 
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Yes indeed. Great job sleuthing it out!.
Was the Troubles in Northern Ireland similar to counterinsurgency in the ACW?
I would argue they were somewhat similar obviously not identical.
The British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary could and were sometimes prosecuted for crimes such has rape and murder. Not so much in the ACW.
Union troops per the Liber Code could kill captured Confederate guerrillas.
The British had to try the captured insurgents before a court with no death penalty. In fact all terrorists on both sides were eventually released from prison.
Did the British Army and RUC commit extra judicial killings or provide hit lists to Protestant terrorists? Sometimes yes.
After all rules are made to be broken.
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rittmeister

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There is a great quote in that documentary on how a hand full of IRA fighters tie down a whole British Regiment.
The British Army had a lot of trouble securing the border with Ireland. Arguably they never quite succeeded. The Irish Army avoided the IRA.
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it's not a documentary but a a drama show
 

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@rittmeister and @jgoodguy ,
Certainly one classic theme in counterinsurgency is armed citizen militia's or home guards are going to take revenge when the opportunity presents itself and thus inflame tensions.
Certainly true in the ACW for example the Shelton Laural Massacre or various murders committed by the Union home guards in Missouri.
The British Army formed the Ulster Defense Regiment which became the largest regiment for many years in the British Army. It was at first part time and the British Army tried at first with some success to recruit Roman Catholics. Eventually most Roman Catholic members of the UDR left due to intimidation of the IRA.
Many members of the UDR also belonged to Protestant terrorist groups so they could use their weapons and uniforms to create havoc I E. The Miami Showband Massacre.
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