Asymmetric Warfare In African Sub-Saharan Countries

When we examine the civil war that took place in Sierra Leone that split the country apart in the early 90's, we see an evolution of the modern mercenary on the battlefield. I say an evolution, not a revolution, because utilizing mercenaries to supplement government troops has taken place since the inception of warfare. What is unique in the specific situation of the Sierra Leone Conflict, is that for the first time we see a melding of a business corporation and a traditional mercenary outfit. What is surprising is just how effective it was. When we think of the corporate world, the only violence of action we associate is perhaps the occasional hostile corporate takeover in a boardroom. However, these two separate entities work

After a brief period of no serious transgressions, the Boko Haram incursions start to surface, which sparks tension with northern Nigeria, and fear starts to spread. However, now with the help of Chad pledging military support in January 2015, once again Cameroon has created another alliance, and is attempting to solidify its place in

This is an excerpt from a 20-page paper on “Africa Command and the War on Terror.”

In a Western perspective, Africa is perceived as a poor, insecure, and violent continent. Although this statement is ignorant and disregards the multidimensional issues that are in each of the 54 countries, security and violence is a general issue in most African countries. African countries have not endured an easy history, and their history continues to create present conflicts. Their violent colonial past has left certain countries with ethnic rivalries and left their legacies with agents of security. Although the colonial past of African countries have been the leading cause of many of their current problems, they cannot be blamed for everything. Additionally, there is a positive correlated relationship between the state and the violence

The plan to align brigades with each global combatant command is a great strategy. The benefits of regional aligned forces are shown in improved operations, planning, and execution of missions. It also provides a greater partnership as the result of cultural proficiency and reduced cost of security operations in foreign countries.

The days of unilateral and conventional battles are history. The Army of yesterday is no longer adequate to deter and defeat our nation’s enemies. Rather, the Army needs to adapt to meet the global challenges of today, and the complexity of hybrid threats. Former Army Chief of Staff, General Ray Odierno stated, “The Army is probably the most flexible, adaptable organization across all the services”. In conjunction with that claim, the Army is implementing the regionally aligned forces (RAF) concept. Through the implementation of the regionally aligned forces concept, our nation’s Army will become a versatile, adaptable and globally ready force. Although the RAF concept is thoroughly sound, it is doomed to fail during its implementation.

The emergence of near-peer competitors like China and Russia and the threat of malign regional powers like Iran and North Korea continue to make inter-state war conceivable for JF-2025. The threat posed by VEOs and failing or failed states continues to foster regional instability making overseas contingency operations a likely possibility. In between these on the “continuum of conflict” is “hybrid conflict” which combines conventional and non-conventional forces employing both traditional military

Irregular warfare is defined as a military force that is guerilla or asymmetric in nature. An enemy that has based his doctrine around irregular warfare can be a challenging adversary to any Marine Corps unit. In order to prepare their Marines for Irregular Warfare, small unit leaders and Staff Non-Commissioned Officers must train their platoons in a realistic manner by holding high technical standards, synthesizing exhausting scenarios and creating frictional environments.

The portion of conventional warfare was less than 20 percent in the conflicts of the last two centuries. As a result, America should increase its irregular warfare capabilities, which include not only Special Operations Forces (SOF) but also highly trained military personnel. The threats of transnational terrorist organizations like Al-Quaeda are still

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the United States, including its allies, waged brutal campaigns directed at the Al Qaeda leadership and, the Taliban in the Middle East. America’s fight against terrorism nonetheless consumed billions of dollars since the 9/11 attacks. Earlier, countries such as England, Spain, Italy, and Russia, similarly waged wars against the Provisional Irish Republican Army, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, the Red Brigades and the Chechnya separatists. In most of these cases, research shed light on the mechanisms that led to the demise or the defeat of these terrorist groups. However, when it comes to similar groups located in the southern hemispheric countries such as Nigeria, the mechanisms leading to the group

United States involvement in these countries goes back long before the tragic actions that took place in 2001. Their mission includes but is not limited to combined joint operations to enhance partner nation capacity, promote regional stability, dissuade conflict, and protect United States and coalition interest. Constant growth of terrorism throughout this part of the world has heightened security measures and intelligence organizations focus in Africa. Despite the significant increase in terrorist activity in Eastern Africa throughout the past decade, western media coverage has neglected to report this information until

Al-Shabaab as a terrorist group poses a significant threat in Somalia and in the global community. This paper will start by discussing the background. In this part the paper will show how the group has evolved from Al-Ittihad Al-Islam (AIAI) to the Islamic Court Union (ICU) and lastly to Al-Shabaab. Before discussing the group’s threat of national security, homeland and international, this paper will provide the conceptual meaning of key terminology, such as national security, homeland security, international security and globalization. It is important to understand these concepts before moving toward the main argument of the paper. After providing the framework for key concepts, the paper will discuss the group’s threat to Somalia in two areas, national security and homeland security. The paper will go further and identify the threats posed by the group on other nations’ homeland security and international security. We will use East African countries and the United States examples. The paper will provide evidence to support how globalization has shaped and fueled the threats from Al-Shabaab. It will then discuss the primary response from the United States and from African countries through AMISOM. The paper will provide the way forward and suggestions for the response of the international community to Al-Shabaab. In conclusion, we will try to alert the international community that although the group has been experience hard times in Somalia, it is unwise to

Irregular warfare has become the centre of much military and academic study in recent years, due mostly to the ongoing NATO operations in Afghanistan. However irregular warfare is by no means a recent revelation in the evolution of warfare and strategy, numerous examples exist throughout history in which irregular warfare tactics and strategy have been adopted and later analysed by academics and military professionals. This author will focus on the key issues that governments face in creating effective strategies for irregular warfare with a particular emphasis on counter-insurgency (COIN) and terrorism. Resources such as time, space, legitimacy and support present themselves as key issues in dealing with insurgency and terrorism and are

Giulio Douhet, in his seminal treatise on air power titled The Command of the Air, argued, “A man who wants to make a good instrument must first have a precise understanding of what the instrument is to be used for; and he who intends to build a good instrument of war must first ask himself what the next war will be like.” The United States (US) military establishment has been asking itself this exact question for hundreds of years, in an attempt to be better postured for the future. From the Civil War, through the American Indian Wars, and up until World War II (WWII) the American military’s way of war consisted of fighting traditional, or conventional, wars focused on total annihilation of an enemy. Since that time, there has been a gradual shift from the traditional framework towards one that can properly address non-traditional, or irregular wars. While the US maintains a capability to conduct conventional warfare, the preponderance of operations where the US military has been engaged since WWII have been irregular wars. Therefore, this question articulated by Douhet, as to understanding the character of the next war in order to properly plan, train, and equip, is certainly germane to the current discussion of regular war versus irregular war. In today’s fiscally constrained environment, the questions remains, which will dominate the future and therefore, garner further funding and priority. Based on the current threats and the US role as a superpower, the US

The greater Horn of Africa (HoA) is the sub region of the Eastern part of Africa that composed of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. Threats to peace and security are interconnected and comprised various human insecurities that emanate from both intrastate and interstate conflict, and transnational security threats such as terrorism. This is because political, social, and security problems in the region further threaten development efforts and complicate interventions to alleviate, the various related challenges of the region. Mainly, Terrorism has been a source of serious security challenge to the Horn of Africa peace and development process. As terrorism is the main security challenge of the Horn of Africa region, Sun Tzu’s theory is relevant in the war with terrorist organizations operated in the greater Horn of Africa. For these countries’ could helpful in curbing the terrorist threat, if they examine Sun Tzu’s theory offensive strategy according to the existing context of the terrorist threat. The offensive strategy first should focus on attacking the terrorist’s strategy, and then their allies because the main strength of the terrorist is the strategy they follow. Giving priority on attacking the terrorist’s strategy would eliminate fertile ground for terrorist organizations motive. Therefore, this paper will evaluate, and analyze Sun Tzu’s theory such