Hybrid Warfare (merged thread)

[Gian P Gentile]

Colonel (ret) Doug Macgregor sent to me via personal email his thoughts on this discussion on the "hybrid war" concept and gave me permission to post them on the SWJ blog.

"As most of us know, the IDF went through some considerable internal self-examination in the period after Lebanon. Most of the self-examination centered around the loss of basic competence associated with combined arms operations, but the self-examination ultimately went much further urging the tight integration of maneuver and strike with good intelligence in the context of all future combat operations.

In addition, the IDF embraced the use of armor, artillery and fuel air explosive in the conduct of urban operations with the object of minimizing the exposure of dismounted IDF troops to enemy fire. While the Hamas enemy may qualify as one of Frank Hoffman's hybrids, the IDF wasted no time in fighting for hearts and minds because the IDF knows there are none to win in the Islamic World.

In the final analysis, the so-called hybrid enemy that is absolutely not new in any way was crushed not by some scheme of culturally sensitive men with rifles, but by raw, irresistible military power directed with as much precision as possible. Whether there is any strategic payoff for Israel in this operation is another matter. But tactically and operationally, the IDF got it right.

Again, this too is not a new approach. Lots of hybrid enemies in Russia during WW II and earlier wars that were ultimately dispatched by the various combatants in exactly the same way. But it is good to see the IDF renew our understanding of reality."