The vanguard's dilemma: understanding and exploiting insurgent strategies

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better conceptualization of insurgent strategies. Specifically, I shall examine Che Guevara's ‘Foco’ theory of insurgency, as it is one of the most theoretically popular and most pervasive strategies of insurgency currently practiced throughout the world. After briefly examining the origins, objectives, and theoretical strengths of the Foco theory (also known as the Vanguard Theory), I will argue that Guevara's theory suffers from an internal tension that I term the ‘Vanguard's Dilemma’. The significance of this dilemma creates a tension within the Vanguard Theory that can be fatal for insurgents if properly exploited by counterinsurgent operations. This paper will examine in detail this dilemma and show how it can be exploited. Given that several insurgent groups within Iraq and Afghanistan currently adhere to the Vanguard Theory of insurgency, a proper understanding of this insurgent strategy is an essential first step in the long road towards confronting and winning asymmetrical conflicts.     

Major Stepan Stebelski of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army: examples of insurgency leadership and tactics

This is a biographical analysis of Stepan Stebelski (‘Khrin’) and his time in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. His military command is an example of classic insurgency tactics and strategies. He was trained in underground tactics before the Second World War, used his image very effectively during his time in the UPA, and used his knowledge of the terrain to become an exceptional enemy against Soviet and Polish authorities.     

The strategic utility of New Zealand Special Forces

In 1955, the New Zealand government authorised the creation of a Special Forces unit to operate with British forces in Malaya to counter a communist-inspired guerrilla insurgency. Drawing upon the operational experiences of the New Zealand SAS largely taken from the Cold War period, and underpinned by Colin Gray's Special Forces essentials of ‘economy of force’ and ‘expansion of choice’, this article will show how New Zealand's SAS is now accepted not only as a respected and relevant part of the nation's military capability, but also empowers its political decision-makers with the confidence to take on significant, and at times difficult, strategic foreign-policy choices.     

‘Taylor must go’ – the strategy of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy

In 1999, rebels rose to oppose the newly elected former warlord Charles Taylor in Liberia. Motivated by a variety of reasons, the minimal common denominator of these rebels, who assumed the name Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), was that Charles Taylor must leave the country. The decentralized nature of LURD though stands out in their struggle, as they don't fit the unitary actor assumed by literature on strategy, nor the alternative conception of decentralized forces fighting for purely local reasons. Understanding such aberrations as LURD is the first step to finding strategies that can incorporate and manage them.     

一种基于节点资源利用率的无标度网络路由策略

本文研究了节点负载处理能力异质条件下的无标度网络交通动力学过程,提出了一种基于节点资源利用率的全局动态路由策略。该策略利用网络中节点资源利用率构建了一种全局代价函数,选择使该代价函数最小的路径来传输负载。实验结果表明该路由策略在略微增加平均路径长度的情况下成倍地提高了网络负载传输能力,与有效路由策略的比较进一步验证了该策略的有效性。     

单站纯方位目标跟踪系统可观测性分析

针对单站纯方位目标跟踪系统的可观测性,在研究国内外有关状况的基础上,给出了单站纯方位目标运动分析的问题描述,综述了国内外的研究和发展情况,给出了由观测可观测性的一些结论和证明.其中对某些经典的结论给出了简单、明了的证明方法,这些有助于该问题的深入理解和研究.     

弹道导弹突防措施分析

简要介绍了弹道导弹面临的典型防御系统。针对该防御系统,提出了弹道导弹所能采取的典型突防手段,并将弹道导弹突防措施分为反侦察类突防和反拦截类突防两部分,介绍了反侦察类突防中的电子干扰、诱饵、隐身、助推段策略以及反拦截类突防中的加强防御策略、导弹机动发射与飞行、多弹头策略等。为研究弹道导弹突防技术提供参考。     

美国2014年《四年防务评估报告》特点

2014年3月4日,美国国防部向国会提交了2014年版《四年防务评估报告》和《2015财年国防预算报告》。《四年防务评估报告》更新了再平衡战略,为美军建设提出了优先发展方向,要求美军联合部队向“更小型化”转型,以满足未来军事行动需求。     

基于UKF的自适应网格交互式多模型算法

针对非线性观测条件下的机动目标跟踪问题,基于机动目标的协同转弯（CT）模型,采用无迹卡尔曼滤波（UKF）方法和自适应网格（AG）的模型集自适应策略,研究了一种变结构交互式多模型算法,即：基于UKF的自适应网格交互式多模型（UKF-AGIMM）算法。对二维机动目标跟踪的仿真结果表明,本算法与相应的固定结构交互式多模型算法相比,可以解决固定结构多模型算法存在的问题,有效提高多模型算法的精度和费效比,缩短计算时间,且适合工程应用