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Air Power in the New Counterinsurgency Era
The Strategic Importance of USAF Advisory and Assistance Missions
Often treated by Americans as an exceptional form of warfare, insurgency is anything but. Spanning the globe, centuries, and societies, insurgency is quite common. Given the threat insurgency presents to U.S. interests and allies around the world, the importance of counterinsurgency is no surprise. However, history has shown that insurgencies are rarely defeated by outside powers. Rather, the best role for outsiders is an indirect one: training, advising, and equipping the local nation, which must win the war politically and militarily. And while counterinsurgency might seem to be a task most suited to ground forces, air power has much to contribute. These facts combine to suggest that advising, training, and equipping partner air forces will be a key component of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts worldwide. The authors note that, if the Air Force is to participate in these tasks, it will need to make counterinsurgency an institutional priority, developing the capabilities of its personnel both as advisors and trainers and as combatants, as well as developing the necessary institutional support structures.
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Pages: 204
ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-3963-7
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Contents
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
The Evolving Insurgency Challenge
Chapter Three:
The Challenge of Counterinsurgency: Lessons from the Cold War and After
Chapter Four:
Grand Strategy and Counterinsurgency
Chapter Five:
A New Framework for Understanding and Responding to Insurgencies
Chapter Six:
The USAF Role in Countering Insurgencies
Chapter Seven:
Conclusions
Appendix A:
States Afflicted by Insurgency
Appendix B:
Estimating Manpower Requirements for Advisory Assistance
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force and conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE.
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