The limits of covert action: SAS operations during ‘Confrontation’, 1964–66

This article evaluates the performance of the Special Air Service (SAS) during secret cross-border raids conducted as part of Britain’s undeclared war against Indonesia from 1963–1966. The analysis reviews the existing debate on the SAS’ performance during this campaign; it looks more closely at how military effectiveness might be defined; and it then examines, using the SAS’ own operations reports, the nature of their activities and their success or failure. This article concludes that critics of the SAS’ effectiveness during Confrontation are right; but for the wrong reasons. SAS operations did indeed have less effect than orthodox accounts would have it. But the reasons for this lay not in their misuse but in the exigencies of British strategy. This article demonstrates an enduring truth – no matter how ‘special’ a military force might be, tactical excellence cannot compensate reliably for problems in strategy.     

Livelihood systems of enlisted Ugandan Army soldiers: honour and reform of the UPDF

This article explores the livelihood pathways of serving Ugandan Army soldiers and traces their methods and motivations for enlistment. All were from areas of northern Uganda affected by nearly two decades of violent instability. With the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) increasing recruitment eligibility requirements and taking other measures to improve professionalism, some soldiers enlisted using false credentials and names, travelled to skirt unofficial ethnic quotas, and joined against their family's wishes. The Army's defence reform process was intended to preclude such problems. The article concludes with reflections on what strategic deception (by both recruits and the Army) may imply for warriors' honour.     

Turkish commanders discuss counterterrorism strategies and lessons learned from 25 years of fighting the PKK

This article is an extended book review of the Turkish book Commanders' Front (Komutanlar Cephesi, Istanbul: Detay Publishing, 2007), written by prominent Turkish journalist Fikret Bila, who compiled a series of interviews with retired Turkish military commanders and two former presidents. It provides a foreign perspective on counterinsurgency/terrorism strategies and lessons learned from Turkey's small war against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The interviews reveal the generals' views on Turkey's long-standing fight with the PKK, discussing topics ranging from the social aspect of the PKK problem to mistakes made in arming local militia. In addition, it presents the Turkish perspective on US policy in Iraq.     

‘Mowing the Grass’: Israel’sStrategy for Protracted Intractable Conflict

‘Mowing the Grass’, Israel’s strategy in the twenty-first century against hostile non-state groups, reflects the assumption that Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict. The use of force in such a conflict is not intended to attain impossible political goals, but a strategy of attrition designed primarily to debilitate the enemy capabilities. Only after showing much restraint in its military responses does Israel act forcefully to destroy the capabilities of its foes, hoping that occasional large-scale operations also have a temporary deterrent effect in order to create periods of quiet along its borders. The Israeli approach is substantively different from the current Western strategic thinking on dealing with non-state military challenges.     

Combining restorative justice and social justice: Prospects of child soldiering transitional justice

ABSTRACT

The most critical challenges faced by war-affected communities where children have allegedly perpetrated atrocities include: finding transitional justice practices that address the needs of former belligerent children and those of victims and their communities; and helping to reintegrate child soldiers into society and avoid returning to hostilities. This paper demonstrates that these challenges can be overcome by taking a holistic approach to child soldiering transitional justice, which assimilates restorative justice and social justice. Such an approach simultaneously addresses child soldiers’ criminal accountability and pursues their psychosocial wellbeing. The findings are based on a selective scholarship supported by fieldwork that was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo between May and December 2014 in North Kivu province. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and survey questionnaires based on a randomised sample of 282 participants. These included self-demobilised child soldiers, members of war-affected communities, students/learners, educators, local traditional leaders, government officials, child protection lawyers and members of non-governmental organisations.     

防空兵分队兵力机动综合保障能力评估

根据兵力机动任务对综合保障的实际需求,构建了综合保障能力的评估指标体系。在此基础上,分别构建了战斗保障能力、后勤保障能力、装备保障能力以及综合保障能力评估模型。明确了防空兵分队兵力机动实施综合保障的主要内容,较好的解决了防空兵分队兵力机动综合保障评估问题。     

改进型JDL模型在武警部队院校信息化建设中的构建

在武警部队院校的网络信息化水平迅速发展的今天,由于各功能模块缺少统一的接口规范和能够协调各部门信息共享的机制,使得建成的各个功能模块之间无法共享信息,造成了数据库中信息的大量冗余和重复。结合数据融合技术的基本原理、发展现状和应用前景,对数据融合技术进行了介绍;针对武警院校信息融合的需求,提出了改进型JDL模型,分析了武警院校信息融合网络的服务架构层次,对信息融合网络中的核心问题信息共享、接口规范、数据融合进行了研究;利用模块化设计的思路,对原型系统进行了分析,对实验数据进行了重组,并提出了数据优化方案。     

武警院校推行“标杆管理＂的实践与思考

武警院校推行“标杆管理”能够有效地提高院校教学管理水平和教学质量。但是,武警院校起步较晚,同国内知名高校相比还有一定差距。因此,必须要求我们思想上高度重视,选定合理目标,扎实推进各项工作有力进行,确保院校建设内涵发展,整体跃升。     

Asymmetry of Values,Indigenous Forces,and Incumbent Success in Counterinsurgency: Evidence from Chechnya

This article fills the gap in existing scholarship on asymmetric conflict, indigenous forces, and how socio-cultural codes shape the dynamics and outcomes of conflict transformation. Specifically, it identifies three key socio-cultural values commonplace in honorific societies: retaliation, hospitality, and silence. As sources of effective pro-insurgent violent mobilisation and support from among the local population, these values provide insurgents with an asymmetric advantage over much stronger incumbents. Using the case studies of the two Russian counterinsurgencies in Chechnya, the article shows the mechanisms on the ground through which Moscow’s deployment of indigenous forces against insurgents helped to stem the tide of conflict, reversing the insurgents’ initial advantage in terms of asymmetry of values.     

Military Innovation Under Authoritarian Government – the Case of Russian Special Operations Forces

Russian Special Forces saw significant changes to both organization and doctrine in the years after 2008. The special forces of the General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate were reduced in number, the organization’s institutional autonomy and rationale were changed, and an entirely new Special Operations Command was established in March 2013. This article seeks to assess the nature, scope and purpose of these changes, and to explain them by drawing on scholarship on military innovation. In particular, the article looks at military innovation in the context of a non-democratic political regime.