From successful defense to problematic offense: the devolution of unconventional warfare
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Authors
Ball, Timothy S.
Subjects
Special Forces
unconventional warfare
covert action
nation-building
irregular forces
proxy forces
partner forces
foreign internal defense
security force assistance
Jedburgh
TPAJAX
PBSUCCESS
BGFIEND
intervention
unconventional warfare
covert action
nation-building
irregular forces
proxy forces
partner forces
foreign internal defense
security force assistance
Jedburgh
TPAJAX
PBSUCCESS
BGFIEND
intervention
Advisors
Simons, Anna
Date of Issue
2016-12
Date
Dec-16
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Unconventional warfare (UW) originated in World War II as a defensive tactic, utilized to assist an occupied ally during a conventional war. Since then, Special Forces (SF) has changed the definition of UW to include offensive regime change as a strategic option. This type of UW was practiced extensively by the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War with poor results. The use of offensive UW by the United States is problematic for a variety of reasons, ranging from unreliable proxy forces to unpredictable results and negative international perception. The use of defensive UW under certain conditions remains justified and practical, but retains many of the same issues. After examining the history of the United States' use of UW, this thesis concludes that Special Forces better serves the nation's interests by promoting itself as the premier combined force of the United States military.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Defense Analysis (DA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.