I think you're on to an important point. Our traditional or "classical" way of thinking about counterinsurgency imputed a means/ends, politically-focused rationality to the insurgents. But what if what they want is not attainment of some political endstate, but simply to participate in conflict? In other words, the conflict is about psychic fulfillment for them, not political objectives. I think that undercuts much of our understanding of the phenomenon--and our doctrine.
I've come to better understand this as I've worked with people who seem to be in constant conflict with their colleagues. Eventually it dawned on me that they weren't using conflict to attain some defined end, but they actually had a psychological need to be involved in conflict. That makes for a very different solution set.
Bookmarks