Quote Originally Posted by marct View Post
Just out of interest, where would you draw the zone (or line) between an insurgency and a de facto enemy "state"? I suspect that we would both agree that Hezbollah is a de facto state, but what about, say, Deseret, the 2nd Riel Rebellion or the Bar Kochba Revolt?
Well obvioulsy I draw the line with regard to the political objective my military action is seeking to achieve!!

...but seriously. That's basically it, and it depends whose view is used. The question is really, how do you want to influence the civilians, in regard to the political outcome? Do you even care? Is it your people rejecting your authority or some one else's people rejecting your authority?

In Iraq, and A'Stan, you/we want them to support a Government acceptable to the wider international community, so the aim is to destroy any other entity capable of presenting a political alternative - which is why I don't care what the populations wants. It's irrelevant to the outcome we/you are forcing upon them.