Quote Originally Posted by jmm99 View Post

[snip for brevity]

So, agreed that "it" marks the African Way of War, but "we" should be aware that "we" are not far removed from that jungle and its tipping point.

Regards

Mike
Mike thank you. Acting in haste my attempt to put my thoughts into one sentence left a lot to be desired.

Once again I place on record the example of just how thin the veneer of civilisation is in Europe as demonstated during the Bosnian war. One does not have to mention the near sub-human depravity of the Germans (and Japanese) around 1939-45.

I merely state that in African wars it is the civilian population which is specifically targeted. Let us not talk of insurgents now as decolonialisation is complete and Africans now fight against Africans in their manner.

These wars are tribal or religious (plus a few other reasons) where the enemy is everyone on the opposssssing side. Old men, women and children specifically included.

All members of an opposing tribe are the enemy. All Moslems or all Christians are the enemy. This down to infants and the unborn and not only those under arms.

To most westerners the wholesale massacre of women and children is unpalatable and unacceptable... not so for many others across the world.

As far as actual fighting is concerned Mao taught insurgents:

“The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue”

In more conventional interstate wars the fighting takes places between two armies where civilians can get in the way and need to be avoided.

In African wars fighting between armed groups is most often fleeting where one side will flee if they believe they are outgunned and outnumbered after initial wild exchanges. This leaves the victor to deal with the remaining 'enemy' (read old men, women and children) in the surrounding villages in the classic rape, loot and pillage style.