I shall leave LoW to JMM's able mind and remind readers that pseudo operations in the British and others experience can have unpleasant side-effects, some appear quickly and others take time.

Many years ago I read Frank Kitson's books and am mindful he served in the early years of 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland, where he is credited by some (mainly critics) with introducing such operations. See the Google links to MRF (Military Recconaisance Force) and the intelligence gathering 'Four Square Laundry' (not a puseudo op).

In those desperate years IMHO such operations were part of the UK Army standard response to insurgencies and met a political need for information and action. Later on such ops appear to have disappeared, for a variety of reasons, notably the long-term infiltration of the opposition i.e. para-militaries (itself fraught with problems).

The operations may have increased fear amidst opponents, but there is ample evidence that mainly innocents were murdered. Some argue that Republicans were aided in appearing as the community defenders and Loyalist collusion began.

What was the French experience in Algeria? IIRC psuedo ops featured there too, although cannot cite any sources. History shows that in the current conflict the Algerian state (military-led) probably used the option, with villages massacred to cast blame on the insurgents. I think a defecting officer's account appeared in a French paper.

On reflection and for once avoiding the Rhodesian experience, there are the lessons of such ops in SW Africa (now Namibia), Angola (cross-border) and in South Africa itself. Pseudo-gangs, notably the well-known Askaris, were a common feature of military and police operations. Somewhere I have a video on the subject from the 1980's. From faraway and with hindsight I doubt they actually strengthened governance i.e. apartheid or assisted in reaching a less violent future. I expect the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) reported on such activity and their impact (somewhere I have books on the subject read years ago).

I fully accept elsewhere and today fewer innocents maybe victims.

Yes, they can be an option - not specifically in Afghanistan. How desperate is the state to use them? What is their impact, particularly on the civilian population?

davidbfpo