2. There is a bit of romanticism involved with the "Fireforce Concept" - let's get away from clumsy, slow patrols and have a fast-moving, roving squad that kills anything it catches. Sounds nice, but there is nothing that says "conventional COIN tactics" are any better or worse at killing insurgents; the authors don't make a case by throwing out figures with no primary sources. History certainly doesn't back this up, as Malaya isn't a communist country and Rhodesia can only be found in 30 year old atlases. To be fair, the authors do differentiate between the tactical aspects and the sociopolitical ones, but I still find it hard to take the "these are better tactics" argument at face value.
Bookmarks