Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
I would agree that a multi-facetted model will be better than a unitary one, but I'm not sure the parameters you use are those that describe an insurgency in a way that someone with a very limited academic background (eg: myself) could use. I may be wrong.

I look at insurgencies like cars. They are all different shapes and sizes, but you can use certain things to accurately describe them, like colour, engine size, Coupe, saloon etc.

All insurgencies have weapons, a criminal element, funding, a stated aim which is different from their actual aim etc. Having said that, maybe that is what you are attempting to describe, in which case I am all ears... or eyes.

What I'm suggesting is that part of the problem is our conceptization of insurgency itself. We fall into this logic trap where we first ask "Is this an insurgency?" If the answer is "yes," then we must address it the way that Galula et. al. dealt with Cold War era insurgencies.

I define "insurgency" as a strategy which may be used by a wide range of organizations. That a group uses a strategy of insurgency tells me something, but not everything I need to know.

That's why I'm searching for a unified field theory of violent, non-state groups, not just a method of counterinsurgency.