Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
As to the "war is war" position; I hold that not all violence is war and it is dangerous to treat it as such and that COIN is best viewed as a civil emergency by the challenged government. In this light it is EXTREMELY valuable to understand the difference between insurgency and other forms of conflict so that one can apply an appropriate solution.
No one of note suggests that all war is violence.
War is the attempt to force political ideas onto people using violence.

Insurgency just means rebellion or revolt against authority. It has no more character than that, which I can see as useful. Revolts and rebellions have no common cause other than the desire to gain or alter political power, same as all war.