Irregular warfare is warfare in which one or more combatants are irregular military rather than regular forces. Guerrilla warfare and asymmetric warfare are both forms of irregular warfare.
Contents
- Regular vs irregular
- Early use
- US DoD use
- US CIA use
- Activities
- Irregular wars
- Wargames and exercises
- Modeling and simulation
- Other definitions
- References
The overuse of the term 'warfare' in contemporary military terminology to describe both a specific type of engagement and the type of forces participating in it can lead to false conclusions. A guerrilla unit that is made of commandos is a regular unit conducting asymmetric warfare whereas an irregular band of fighters can engage combat in a tactical infantry firefight if well led and well equipped, fighting like a conventional unit.
Irregular warfare favors indirect and asymmetric warfare approaches, though it may employ the full range of military and other capabilities, in order to erode the adversary’s power, influence, and will. It is inherently a protracted struggle that will test the resolve of a state and its strategic partners. Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the term itself.
Regular vs. irregular
The word "regular" is used in the term "regular armed forces" which comes from the Third Geneva Convention of 1949. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a non-governmental organization primarily responsible for, and most closely associated with, the drafting and successful completion of the Third Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (“GPW”). The ICRC provided commentary saying that "regular armed forces" satisfy four Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907) (Hague IV) conditions. In other words, "regular forces" must satisfy the following criteria:
On the other hand, "irregular forces" is a term in international humanitarian law referring to a category of combatants consisting of individuals forming part of the armed forces of a party to an armed conflict, international or non-international, but not belonging to that party's regular forces and operating in or outside of their own territory even if the territory is under occupation. As such, it is implicit that irregular warfare is warfare where a major party in the conflict is a part of irregular forces.
Early use
One of the earliest known uses of the term irregular warfare is in the 1986 English edition of "Modern Irregular Warfare in Defense Policy and as a Military Phenomenon" by Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte. The original 1972 German edition of the book is titled "Der Moderne Kleinkrieg als Wehrpolitisches und Militarisches Phänomen". The German word "Kleinkrieg" is literally translated as "Small War". The word "Irregular", used in the title of the English translation of the book, seems to be a reference non "regular armed forces" as per the aforementioned Third Geneva Convention.
US DoD use
Within United States Department of Defense, one of the earliest known uses of the term IW is in a 1996 Central Intelligence Agency document by Jeffrey B. White. Major military doctrine developments related to IW were done between 2004 and 2007 as a result of the September 11 attacks on the United States. A key proponent of IW within US DoD is Michael G. Vickers, a former paramilitary officer in the CIA.
US CIA use
The CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD) is the premiere unit for unconventional warfare, both for creating and for combating irregular warfare units. For example, SAD paramilitary officers created and led successful irregular units from the Hmong tribe during the war in Laos in the 1960s from the Northern Alliance against the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and from the Kurdish Peshmerga against Ansar al-Islam and the forces of Saddam Hussein during the war in Iraq in 2003.
Activities
Activities and types of conflict included in IW are:
Irregular wars
Some conflicts considered to be within the scope of irregular warfare are:
While sometimes portrayed as an "irregular war" the American Revolutionary War was in fact fought by regular forces using regular methods for most of its duration.
Wargames and exercises
There have been at least two key military wargames and military exercises associated with IW:
Modeling and simulation
As a result of DoD Directive 3000.07, United States armed forces are studying irregular warfare concepts using modeling and simulation.