OBJECTIVES OF COUNTERMEASURES
At the beginning of an underground movement government countermeasures are limited by lack of information about the nature of an enemy which is coming into being.
Although the ultimate aim of all government countermeasures is to destroy the leadership and organization of an underground, initially the government must find out who the enemy is. Therefore the government's first objective is to identify the underground leaders, usually by infiltrating the movement. Next the government tries to prevent growth of the underground by restricting its access to the populace and to supplies. To do this the government may seek the cooperation of the people for intelligence purposes, offering them both protection from threats by the underground and evidence that the government measures are in their best interests.
In the second stage of development of the underground the objective of government countermeasures depends upon whether the underground is a resistance or a revolutionary movement and on circumstances external to the underground itself.
The aim may be either pacification or control. Pacification entails obtaining a large amount of popular support and willing cooperation. Control does not require such a high degree of popular support; if the government's security forces control resources and production facilities, and the lines of communication and transportation in strategic areas, that may be sufficient. In both resistance and revolutionary situations pacification is preferable, because a progovernment populace requires a minimum of physical restraint and permits the government to use security forces for other duties.
If an occupying government aims for pacification in a resistance situation, a great many troops will be needed originally for occupation duty. In practice it has proved expedient during a military campaign for an occupier merely to establish control without attempting to achieve pacification.
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In revolutionary war, however, control alone cannot be a sufficient aim for the government. The ultimate objective must be pacification even though the government may be required to restrict personal freedom to such an extent that martial law is invoked. Such restrictions may cause resentment and aid the revolutionary movement by adding credence to its claims of government persecution. On the other hand, failure to undertake prompt and effective countermeasures may permit tho illegal organization to grow rapidly.
In dealing with revolution, a government typically works under several handicaps: (1) the revolution is usually well underway before control measures are applied, and therefore the security forces are on the defensive at the offset; (2) security forces are often subject to legal restraints; and (3) the government faces conflicting goals--to suppress the revolution and gain the active support of the people.
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