Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Iraq

Bruce Hoffman

ResearchPublished Dec 20, 2004

The United States has long been frustrated in fighting insurgencies. An almost unbroken string of mostly ill fated experiences in effectively prosecuting this unique blend of political-military operations can be traced backward over nearly half a century from the situation in Iraq today to the early 1960s when the United States became heavily engaged in Indochina's wars. Vietnam and Iraq thus form two legs of a historically fraught triangle — with America's experiences in El Salvador in the 1980s providing the connecting leg. The aim of this paper is not to rake over old coals or rehash now familiar criticism. Rather, its purpose is to use the present as prologue in order to understand in counterinsurgency terms where we have gone wrong in Iraq; what unique challenges the current conflict in Iraq presents to U.S. and other coalition military forces deployed there; and what light both shed on future counterinsurgency planning, operations, and requirements.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
24 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2004
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 24
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-3666-7
  • Document Number: OP-127-IPC/CMEPP

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Hoffman, Bruce, Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Iraq, RAND Corporation, OP-127-IPC/CMEPP, 2004. As of September 4, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP127.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Hoffman, Bruce, Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Iraq. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2004. https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP127.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This research in the public interest was funded by the U.S. government.

This publication is part of the RAND occasional paper series. RAND occasional papers were products of RAND from 2003 to 2013 that included informed perspectives on a timely policy issue, discussions of new research methodologies, essays, papers presented at a conference, and summaries of work in progress.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.