Quote Originally Posted by Mike Burgoyne View Post
I'm only wiki deep into this so please excuse my ignorance, but wasn't the RUF trying to overthrow the government?
"What" is interesting, but it is "Why" that determines what it is one is dealing with and how to resolve the problem.

RUF wanted control of the Diamonds. Money and Power. Not a political purpose, nor was it a movement the grew out of a base of popular support. So, in my book, not an insurgency. The government was an obstacle to deal with in that process.

So, going to the great conflation of Mexico and Columbia. In columbia, one had nationalist insurgent movements that got involved in the drug trade. In Mexico one has profit motivated drug cartels that are beginning to challenge government. Two completely different situations, that merely share similar factors. Columbia? Insurgency. Mexico? Criminal.

The nuance of causation and purpose is the most important thing. If all one can see is violence and conflict, then the result is applying the same old hammer to the same old nail. Not every problem is a nail.