Counterinsurgency Operations – Página 2

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ISLAMIST TERRORISTS. 2nd. PART.

(CONTINUATION)

In France more than 4,5 million Muslims are settled, specially of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian origin. The European metropolis practised an «asymmetric multiculturalism», to first accept in his society and to next integrate, their emigrants. But, they cannot direct and regulate the social movements with the compass and the set square. The social emigrant groups were established in the periphery of the cities of reception. Where the habitability was cheaper. Neighborhoods, districts or distributions were formed, principally lived by clustered groups of these foreign cultures. That were serving for his support and protection and also for his isolation and compartment. The prime minister Valls declared that in France exist more of 450 of these not integrated and «isolated suburbs». Using a more wide and lax name, the country possesses around 750 Urban Sensitive Zones.

The personal evolution.

The first generation of emigrants and part of the second one was formed by docile, laborious and long-suffering individuals. That obtained the respect of his French neighbors (each time they were less) and a relative prosperity. They lukewarmly practised the Islam, overwhelmed as they were in the zeals of this world. And for his distance to Dar-al-Islam, the lands of political domain of his religion. They were wishing and tried for their descendants, a future without so many difficulties and penuries as they had his lives.

But the descendants received the worse of both separated civilizations, to form his «personal identity». On one hand, they received «from birth» the belonging to a minority culture and little known in the country, the Islam. So, his «exhibition» between his different neighbors, was not attractive, not honourable. Which was a source of personnel and colective frustration, sorrow and revenge (relative).

Of the hostess culture, essentially European and western, they received a lay culture, when it was not laicist. That minusvalued the religion and claimed for its private practise. When all the religions, and more the Islam, have a social principal component. Enclosed in the mosques, pantheons and sacristies, the religions suffocate and die. Neither they were educated in the virtues of the Western Civilization: Valuation of the different duties to carry out, as necessary, vital and social counterpart of the several rights to receiving. Appreciation of the sobriety, the effort, the saving, the commitment, the delay of the reward, the study or the formation, the possible frustration and the work, as necessary factors and parameters for the progressive and just attainment of the human personal and collective aims. Definitively, to form them in the affability, the social communication and the resilience, to be able to overcome the successive vicissitudes of the life.

And a great majority lacked solid, profitable and identity beliefs and virtues. That significantly were helping them, from his mixed origin, to create his necessary, personal, satisfactory and respected identity.

It might think that the insufficiency of this «social contribution» in the formation of the individual identity, does not justify the appearance of a asocial or sickly conduct in them. But we do not try to say it. We are exposing different facets of the phenomenon, bringing over the pieces to compose this psychological puzzle, trying to form a matrix with the different factors that meet. To express a «multicolored panorama», which allows us to gather in it the parameters of the situation. The failure of the social humus, of the original substratum of the individual will amplify his lacks and failures. And it will not contribute base and wealth for the creation of his resilience (development and overcoming of the adversities, going out experienced and strengthened) and of his reference parameters for his personal and social balance.

The disperse and partitioned French agencies of intelligence, in spite of the only antiterrorist command, calculate that in the country are around 8250 potentials mujahidins. That principally settle in the zone of Paris, the Provence, the Alps and the Côte d’Azur (centred on Marseilles and Nice). But, given the mass of existing believers, I calculate that his number would not go down the 20 to 25 thousand persons.

In a social group, the individuals capable of violently acting, without that a disturbing emotion affects them in his efficiency, are less than 4 %. And this does not want to say that all the so «endowed», should be going to exercise in his life the violence against his neighbor. In the Moslem French group would be more than 150 thousand persons, of whom 30-40 % would have the suitable age to realize this activity.

The politicallly active Islam, of salafist jihadist ideology, offers to these social «disoriented» an exit, a Moslem identity, the incorporation to a simple religion practised in community (the Umma). And gives them a mission and an intention: the Jihad. And makes them «oversized persons», but only before themselves, who believe it. In exchange for the suicide or the prison, it offers them the wished identity. That they never well developed. The identity that we could not help to give them, being members of our centenary nations.

The conversion in suicidal or not «attacker», demonstrates and confirms when the individual looks for his separation of the «unfaithful persons» and his ideology is focused in the radical branches of the Islam and in the Yihad. Some specialists astonish that the transubstantiation of the person in a madman carries out rapidly. Without need that his companions collaborate in the process, not that it is long in the time. Let’s remember the famous cases of «brain washing» against religious and politicians dissident, that needs some time. But, the mutation in «furious violent» of the 17-year-old Muslim Afghan refugee in Germany and received by Würzburg’s family, a small city of Bavaria, was cuasi instantaneous. The young person received the news of the violent death of a friend in Afghanistan. And it reacted arming itself with an axe and a knife and attacking the passengers of a regional train in the proximities of his city, on Monday, the 18th of last July. There ensued three serious and a slight injured men and the aggressor was brought down. What is true is that this young man already had forged his potential destination, for his mental lability, the lack of social virtues, included the distance from the “Islam of the People”, and his uprooting. And the death of the friend was only the «OK, forward». Because Nature does not do jumps in the emptiness.

The Degradation of the Violence in the Societies.

The vulgarization of the violence against the others is a recurrent phenomenon in the different civilizations and epochs. Not in vain the Roman adage says that «the man is a wolf for the man». Leaving apart the cases of social excluded and chased persons, the developed modern societies are disturbed by a widespread neurosis. That becomes established and produces in the personal neurosises. This affection does not turn us violent directly. But it makes us unstable and more inclined to yield before the external and internal tensions. The neurosis attacks ours resilience: for survive and keeping going.

And a way of escape before these «psychological traps» that we suffer, is the violence exercised against that we think culprits of our perceived “evils». That sometimes is the whole vicinity. And the range of possible forcing acts has an extensive gradation. But, these «chests of distress» suffered, are solved overcoming them, not keeping a malignant cycle of action and reaction.

The depraved and sinister character of the islamist terrorism.

This phenomenon has some specific results of death, desolation and helplessness. Totally different, in extent and power, with that an assassin in serie can produce. And that spread, from the terrorist «area of action», forming concentric commotion waves, over the whole attacked society. It is not a question only of the killer deliriums of some misdirected illuminated. It is not a thing of the failures of the multicultural society in joining a nation of races, which are united by the national virtues of the democracy and the freedom. They are not produced «per se» by the «exterior assaults» that the yihadistas promote and claim; when they realize that his social political structure is that of a persecuted, unsuccessful (and degraded) caliphate .

This is a concrete and clear manifestation of the «mysterium iniquitatis» in the History. That, as such, is not in the habit of appearing. Since his disgusting nature can, in these singular cases, be caught and understood by many persons. It is not the temptation of a «temporary illusory good» for the jihadists. It is the appearance, without veils, of the Evil in the World.

Some Solutions through the time.

The fight against the islamist terrorists has different fields of activity. Because his manifestation is multiple and synergic. And this way of integrated and effective, must be the varied answers.

The Destruction of the islamist Bases.

Their bases are the geographical locations indefinitely controlled by the salafists jihadists. They physically bond on the bases, to reform, to consolidate, to train and to increase their forces. From them, operating as his principally «departure base», they throw incursions and assaults with limited aim on his enemy. Seeking to scourge or to expel him from the immediate territory that occupies. The creation of these permanent jihadists cores depends on the measure in which the military enemy is defeated and expelled from them, with consistency and duration. From the bases are carried out the reception of sympathizers and militants of the revolutionary group. Which is scarcely effected between the settlers, but, in his most, they come already motivated and decided from outside. And this is so, though a part of their effort in the action and propaganda area is realized producing videoes, interviews, gazettes and papers for audio-visual wireless varied means: the edition, production and emission is located in the bases. In their bases, the social politics salafist action is so intense or more than the formation and the military training of «mujahidines of Allah «. She is necessary to establish and assure the motivation and the loyalty of the soldiers to the jihadist cause in the hostile environment that surrounds and harasses them

The bases are social military forms with «regular structure» of the jihadists. They present continuous and numerous aims to the action of the heavy fire means of his enemies, the aviation and the artillery. Some are «opportunity targets«, as all classes of movements of the terrorists and the discovery of new positions, and others are «hard targets«, known or reconnoitre: varied infrastructures, stores, refuges, meeting or of control and of communications centers, positions of combat, of supporting fire and of defense against aircraft, observatories, transport of goods, distilling of crude oil, etc.

And these jihadists bases are the only substantial, still and definite target that the terrorist bands offer. Where to make them feel all the superior and available power of the military fire. Where is possible to isolate them in sectors, to beat them by parts, without these could collaborate in the decided defense plan; nor to flee, if the siege of the settlement is firm. And where they might act, with another spirit and other motivations that do not offer the trainings, the peshmergas, shiies and sunnis militias and the national armies of Iraq, Lybia, Nigeria, Syria and Somalia.

The doctrinal failure of the jihadists terrorists.

The salafists jihadists groups have failed in active and firmly joining to a social large group, which gives coverage and permanent impulse to their «social religious imperialistic movement». Their «catechizing of the violence» allows them to be mental prepared for the glorious and in peace death, and, even for the suicide, in the accomplishment of their military actions. But this insane sermon is not a weapon for the conversion of social groups. And there is a fundamental reason for it: his radical «creed» lacks possibilities of acceptance, victory and permanency between the masses, out of the needs in the temporary vicissitudes of a war. The jihadists groups act with an unnecessary and indiscriminate brutality, which discredits them before the Islam, the Koran and the Sunna or Islamic tradition, gathered in the hadices or «comments and facts» Mohammed’s writings. This lack of religious legitimacy, provokes the absence of venerable, respected and pious ulemas and muftis in his side. Their supposed «Islamic original ideology» is based on a few favorable verses of the Koran (it has around 4.200) and on some historical favorable facts and not on the integrity and the intention of the message of the Islam. This social emotional separation from the local masses unfailingly does that the support of the neighbors to the terrorist groups is involuntary, not attractive, always interested and desmotivated.

The location of potentials jihadists in the lands of dar-el-Amn.

We can identify potentials jihadists with certain sureness and after a specialized and methodical work. But we cannot detain them, while do not commit an offence during their activities: to try to arm and to train them; to conspire with others in his actions; to create bands structures to commit offences; to spread the exaltation and the use of the violence as ideological weapon; militants’ recruitment for their ideological and armed radicalization; to gather funds for the organizations with intention of committing offences; to collaborate in the movements of politicallly active and possible militants in his trips towards the interior Yihad (countries of the Southwest of Asia, the Magreb and the Sahel) or exterior (enemy western countries: the «crusaders»).

As for the intelligence labors, great difficulty exists in the penetration of the islamist networks by own agents or collaborators. In general, the mujahidins, the sympathizers and collaborators: usually speak Arabic; do not belong to European or Spanish Americans races; the Moslem civilians do not collaborate in the tasks of espionage and reconnaissance against the armed islamist organizations.

On the other hand, the glamorous exhibition of pairs or groups of armed military men by the streets of the cities is operationally useless. Since they do not have a definite aim. His mission is the ostentatious and indefinite patrolling. Seeking to calm the pedestrians parishioners with their menacing presence.

What do we still have? The information turned into intelligence. That must be contrasted, taken part to all the authorized agencies and user groups (including foreigns), constantly updated and necessary and sufficient. Excluding the undue plethora of excessive, routine information, not elaborated as intelligence. That is a way of poisoning and boring the own commands at all levels.

The redemption of the jihadists and of the activists and frustrated individuals.

When the individual has done the psychological and volitional step (the «decision»): already has broken the sufficient bonds with his vital environment; including the family. And his mind is absorbed and directed to his new “situation” and to the offered and assumed identity. This way, it is almost irrecoverable for him, for his family, for the society.

If the individual is one more of the «disoriented», emotionally confused and not integrated. That are mental besieged by the resentments produced by the long-suffering or believed as such «offenses»: it is possible to recover him, is relatively simple to do it and is enormously laborious to obtain it.

The enormous necessary work, prolonged in the time, does that it could not rehabilitate all. It is necessary to fight against the inequalities that have mentioned. To look for temporary works is more rapid. To give them an education and a labor formation is slower. But it is indispensable in the medium and long term. To separate them of the «rotten suburbs» and of the pernicious influence of environment, friends and relatives, is very complicated and long. Because the «chunks» extracted from these, have created the poor and only identity that they have. That takes them to the personal and social failure and to the frustration.

The Community integrated by his upright members.

And now comes the result that they join the nation. Nowadays, ethnic group is not synonymous of nation. Many nations of the Earth are really «crucibles of races». They are the United States of North America, the Spanish-American nations, the great African nations… Where coexist in sufficient peace and harmony different races and cultures. That are shaped by not exclusive beliefs and by the virtues and national values.

A nation is a society of individuals, provided with social politic selfconsciosness. Collaborate to creating and support it the history, the tradition and the customs, and the language and the own moral sense. And secondly contribute to it the ethnias and the own territory, that not always exist, specially the first ones. This way, the territory of a country is not a nation. And it is not even the inarticulate population of a territory, under an only government.

When the nation is loved by his components and exists in them the desire to serve and to defend her in community, the concept of the motherland appears. That is the motherland that we love and defend. Both ideas are essentially interrelated. And, the absence of the patriotism or the shame for practise it, by members of a «social community«, leads to the defenselessness and the dismemberment of their nation, in major or minor degree, forming «groups of associate individuals».

This way, it is not surprising that are the Defense Forces of a nation, as institutions and in his members, which wave, teach and practise the patriotism as one of his essential virtues. The Defense Forces of a nation are the specialized set of the «natives or patriots» for the belligerent and complete Defense of his «country nation».

THE END.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ISLAMIST TERRORISTS. 1st. PART.

Introduction and Thematic Index.

The civilization and his vital and social structures, in his interactions with the individuals and their psychology.

The failure of the jihadists in joining a «group with shared beliefs and virtues (the permanent values)». That give to their lives identity, sense and belonging.

Why do they behave this way? How to treat the recoverable ones? How to attack the hatefuls or recalcitrant terrorists?

Historical Antecedents.

These «fine ones» rescue and update a sinister personage that suffered many decades ago the adventurers, settlers and European authorities in the countries of the Islam. It was when «the flow and the reflux» of the currents of the History between the European and the Islamic civilizations, frontiers from the 8th century, was favorable to West. And different countries of the West, France, Great Britain, Russia and even the USA (when from 1898, after the war with Spain and ther occupation of the archipelago of the Philippines, they met the «Moors»), gave the geographical jump, sometimes overseas. And penetrated and settled themselves with more or less opportunity and right (apart from «that of the stronger», in force until ends of Modern Age). It was the Age of the Imperialism.

The «sworn-in» generally was a stout and slightly reflexive man. That counted between his mental parameters the Islamic basic beliefs: the 5 «pillars of the Islam», to which was added the Yihad against the unfaithful person or the kfar or apostate. These simple, strong and moldable men were indoctrinated by them by the iman of the village or population and his acolytes and by his companions. That convinced them that were destined by al-Allah to the paradise, «for following Allah’s path». That for them was to do the war to the «unfaithful foreigner» and to the » local apostates», who were collaborating with him in the governance of the country. This man or a small group of them was literally thrown against the designated target: civil or military authorities, a meeting of civilians or military men in a station, in a temple or in the square or the street market, etc.

THE MACHETE OF A MOOR «SWORN-IN»…

The sworn-in, that were taking his vulgar name, from the last rite that they realized before going to «his» combat, were fighters of one use. It was not necessary to instruct them in the tactics and technologies of the infantry combat. It was not hoping that they were returning from their mission. Only they had to dominate the use of the scimitar, cutlass or yagatan, common in their zone. Apart from his convictions as firm as scanty, the sworn-in were drugged to increase his physical resistance and to be able to murder with efficiency. It was common that they received several bullet impacts or blade wounds, before losing the spirits, to slacken and to fall down. Only the bayonet well fixed in full torso, chest, diaphragm or abdomen, and the bullets of great calibre or expansive, type «dum dum», for their «stopping power» and directed to the nervous system, encephalon, backbone, were managing to dispatch the injured sworn-in men for the Garden of the Houris.

PHILIPPINE MOORS…

Also there existed elaborated and institutionalized forms of the killer suicides in Allah’s name. At the end of the 11th century, Hassan-i-Sabbah founded between the Shiite ismaelits and in the North-East of Persia, the sect of the «assassins». These were seeking to secretly kill his enemies. This death with perfidy that they realized gave the name of «assassins» to all those who were practising it in the future. Though the murder is really the death of the innocent one. The «assassins” acted in Persia, Mesopotamia and Syria and Alamut’s mountain was his first center and sure refuge. They did a wide use of the hashish to encourage in his actions. They disappeared in 1256, when the Mongolians invade Persia and they were isolatedly and methodical destroying the different mountainous redoubts where the «assassins» were sheltering. Alamut’s fortress, which was surrendered without resistance by the «assassins», was destroyed up to the foundations, in order that it could not be used again.

Concept and structure of the external motivations (environment and social group) of the conduct. The identity of the individuals.

The Origin and the Sociocultural Meaning of the Civilizations.

The civilization is literally the art of living in great settlements or cívitas. That were originally the first human settlements. Where the man first sited himself and left strolling around as imperious and vital need. And could manage to generate «remaining benefits», in the form of cereals, cattles and all his derivatives. That would serve as reserves and for the trade with his neighbors. And that were offering to him safety, comfort and survival. This allowed him to start socially behaving as person. Establishing firm and extensive tides with his nearby similar ones, the close friends beyond his families, his “vital neighbor”.

The result of all this social activity were the first local, narrow, vulnerable and stammering civilizations. That were including: the development of the rights and the duties of the men, as individuals and with his collectivities; the arithmetic, to measure and contract the productions and his distributions; the language and his writing, to communicate between them and with the nearby settlements, leaving record, at least, of the important considered thing, etc. The civilizers inventions, As the bricks, the irrigated lands, the organic fertilizers, the plough, the writing, etc., arise in these human locations. And they had not been necessary, not possible, without the stable settlements. They arise when the development reaches an «initiation level», necessary in order that they appear and the civilization blooms. Level that supposes and implies a perspective of relative future and progress, the need to conquer the natural obstacles to them, a social internal enough coherence and the temporary absence of external, too powerful, greedy and excluding enemies.

The civilizations possess a bivalent, necessary and complementary character in his social global relations. This double quality is centrifugal, expansive and dominating towards his exterior. Inside his borders, the civilization is centripetal, enterprising and developing. In both cases, it is creative, innovative and civilizer or transmitter of his beliefs and shared values. Because of it, they stand out in both different and opposite, but not antagonistic activities. The balance between both trends, which canalize his better efforts and means, is indispensable for his constant, protected and beneficial development and impulse. The civilizations merely overwhelming and plundering, that expire as all, do not leave permanent and fruitful fingerprints in his passing along the conquered countries.

The civilizations that manage to bring together both vital drives, his diastoles and his efferent and driving systoles, manage to last more in the time. But also they impregnate from his style, his language and his culture the territories successively subdued. With it they transmit his essence to the posterity, much after his decadence, through the peoples civilized with his culture, his laws and his language and his historical paths. There we have the case of Rome, rapacious and imperialist as any other power. That only with the colds and the bad time quartered his legions in the winter barracks. Arranged during the Republic and the Empire to going out to conquest, repress the revolts or assure his borders, in his military annual campaigns, just that the good time allowed it. But that was also capable of transmitting his culture, his laws, came up until today as the Roman law, his vulgar Latin and his administrative system, to all the regions «extra Italy», that little by little were joining his Enpire or “res publica”. This cultural impregnation, which Lorenz would say, was sanctioned, integrated and dedicated with the generous, opportune and prudent concession of his citizenship to many of those cities and regions. The «Ius civitatis» was granted by conquest, depending on the degree of annexation, loyalty and assimilation of the submitted peoples. When they were turning into Roman provinces, the same rights of the metropolis were granting to them. It was the case of Roman Spain. But until they were not reaching this honor and quality, the dominated peoples had to pay his tax of conquest (ius belli) and were lacking many rights. Palestine, for example, never managed to have the condition of province.

Socio ideological Mechanism of the flow and reflux in the becoming of the Civilizations.

In the successive floods and undertows between the western and Moslem civilizations, only once coincided the periods of forceful civilization of both. That happened in approximately 125 years, between the halves of the XVth and XVIth centuries. This double exuberance of conflicting civilizations took form in a long period of invasions, reconquests, harassments and opened clashes in Europe, the north of Africa and the whole Mediterranean.

The observable facts that define the temporary decadence of a fulled civilization are: the vital national energy, which feeds the «national moral» and the healthy «will of defense», vanishes; the arts and the letters become formalist and sterile; the emplacements, colonies or peripheral partners are given up and the exterior politics turns coward, stammering and cautious. This setback of a civilization makes an existential emptiness, which attracts and externally gives impulse to other one. Forming a natural and cosmic swaying, because the Nature renounces and flees from the «emptinesses».

The commercial routes, the habitual contacts between both civilizations are his authentic lines of supplies and exterior communications. And, when these arteries are neglected in the periphery of the zone of influence of a civilization, the civil, religious and military experts of other one come to repair, to occupy and to vitalize her. The absorbent «aspiration» created by the decadence of other one, created by his vital «emptiness», attracts a foreign current of ideas, methods, words, inventions and styles. First appear in the debilitated and permeable foreign zone, the travelers, commercial and secret agents, cultural representations, missionaries, professors and diplomats of the thriving civilization. This way, often the military action is not more than the political confirmation of an existing and manifest superiority, which irresistibly emerges and appears from many fields of the human activity. And the territorial gains are consolidated with the arrival of the civil servants and administrators and the professions of growth and development: architects, engineers, land-surveyors, artists and a swarm of go-getters, unscrupulous opportunists and adventurers. From this human flow, specially the last mentioned, because their immediate future is a blank page, always arise decisive prominent figures for the new implantation.

Then, it might be thought that the stabilized societies and civilizations would be the culmination and desideratum in their development. As this way, they would be sure, beneficial and attractive. But, no. To a civilization, the development penury, the languor in her vital effort is already a decadence sign. If it does not flow, adapts, tackles and advances, it will be stagnating, losing the survival and rotting. As it would happen to a fresh water current, which pass was remaining repressed. This happens in periods measured in many years, which escape to the perception of the ephemeral man.

The Interaction between the Persons and their Society.

The identity of a man is his «natural card» of personal distinction and affirmation. She always refers to a comparison in essence and accidents with «something» similar. The man is, feels and differs, as such and in fullness, in a social «set». To which he belongs and that accepts him as full member and participant. And exist some «bonds», which unite, integrate, nourish and keep working the social healthy, active and resilience «union». And these are the rights and duties of both «personal and collective parts». That must be respected and reciprocal, in balance and parity of use and right, fulfilled and defended by all them.

The experiences as configurators and updating factors of the men.

When a social group places in the territory of other, it inevitably produces a socialcultural interaction between them. Whose results will be a function of his sociocultural characteristics and of the dialectics that appears between both actors. This way, for example, we have the most ancient case of the violent invasions. Imposed by a group on his «host», using a dialectics of confrontation by the weapon.

In the 376 A.D:, the Goths crossed the Eastern “limes” of the Roman Empire and they sheltered in his oriental territories. They were coming pushed by warriors furthermore fierce than them: the riders of the Asian steppes, the nomads of the jurgas and the compound arch, the Huns and also others, some Turkoman peoples from the Central Asia. Only two years later, on August 9, the Goths defeated the legions of the emperor Valente, which wanted to expel them from the Tracia, a territory that was approximately including the Bulgaria of today. In Adrianópolis died around 20 thousand of the 30 thousand Roman infantry men, including Valente. It was the major defeat of Rome, since about 369 years ago. And the Goths definitively settled themselves in these territories.

Only 98 years later, in the 476, the Roman army of Romulus Augustulo was squashed by the Ostrogoths. That established their kingdom in Italy, the south of the Galia and approximately Yugoslavia. This brought the inexorable fall of the Roman empire and the expansion of the Gothic tribes for his western lands, towards Roman Spain, the Galia and Italy.

Already, nowadays, enormous migratory movements take place, specially in Africa, in the Southwest of Asia and towards Europe. That are encouraged and facilitated by the development of the communications of persons and goods and by the revolution in the wireless communication of information. These migrations do not suppose in his determination the collective employment of the violence against the passing or final hosts. This way, both in France and in Great Britain, after the World War II and after the process of decolonization of the peoples, took place massive immigrations of persons proceeding from their former African and Asian colonies, who settled in these countries. And that were looking for a standard of living better than that of their countries, including a first class education for his children, a social safety and peace and an attainable future of improvement and prosperity.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

THE WAR AGAINST THE ISLAMIC TERRORISTS. Second Part.

(CONTINUATION)

Operational Characteristics of the Attacks with Elite Ground Forces.

Units and small units that attack with limited aims (a deep incursion, the temporal capture of a critical position, an ambush) constitute a military closed «system». This condition imposes specific characteristics on the “interfaces of action” with the enemy, which are sometimes different to those of great units, especially in the theme of available means and the time of action.

Attacks with limited aims have been operationally used along large fronts. Where the enemy’s defense lacked depth and enough reserves and was looking to minimize own wear and make use of the multiplier effect of the set’s efforts. This occurred with notable success when the forces of the 9^th German infantry Army of General Model sought to reform and consolidate its fronts in the Sychevka’s southwest zone between January and April of 1942.

The definitive characteristic of his use, adapted in these tasks, is that is used with criterion unity, by a kept and «concentric» in the result of his impulses “operational gravity center”. So that the limited efforts do not vanish in reconnaissance in force actions, in not suitable or out of opportunity sectors. It is to say, usiing unduly.

The field of action is the secret for applying freedom of action. By extending or decreasing the field of action, or by changing the field of action on the enemy, one can keep or recover the necessary freedom of action to act favorably and not simply reacting to the enemy.

«Field of action» is any «spatial-temporary-circumstantial» situation that allows for the suitable employment of an Army’s means and capacities in accordance or as part of that army’s intention. The field of action is formed by one or several «interfaces of action«, which are the very small sectors where direct contact occurs between the small units of action of each rival. Examples are when a deployed platoon attacks an enemy section, when a tank attacks infantry heavy weapons, when a section attacks by firing on an enemy’s strong position, when an engineering section opens a path in a minefield, etc.

The task is to find an optimal way in which, through successive «periods of action» applied in «fields or interfaces of action», one can gain the relative freedom of action to act and to carry out «quantum» or elementary units of the general intention. In addition, a general action can be divided into numerous partial actions to achieve in stages, momentary or minor «periods of action»; acting this way in the same «field», divided in minor interfaces of action.

Interaction in stages and situations suitable to advance one’s military means guided by the superior intention or orders is the general mechanism for applying, recovering and maintaining freedom of action in one’s favor.

A characteristic of the freedom of action is that is interactive with the enemy in the «interface of action» and is played out in fields of action that chosen by or imposed on an army. Passiveness means that freedom of action is not taken advantage of through lack of initiative. Thus, freedom of action can also have a result opposite to its intention and this can happen regardless of the type of fight engaged in, whether it is offensive or defensive.

The units had to gain combat superiority over the enemy, since obtaining a local and temporary supremacy would allow them to achieve their aims.

Essential to the mission’s conception are intelligence and simplicity. Essential to its preparation are security and training. The characteristics of the mission in action are surprise, tempo and the commitment of all the mission participants.

Simplicity allows the force to concentrate on a few related aims, using a limited number of men and means in the military closed system. If new tactics or different technologies are used, both the simplicity of the mission’s conception and the surprise of its execution will be enhanced.

On September 12, 1943, the captain of the S. S. Otto Skorzeny carried out the rescue of the Duce from his prison in the high mountain hotel Great Sasso located in the Apennines. Gliders were used to assault the position, fighting against the difficult cold draughts (these produced a delay in the arrival, as they landed at midday) and scarce sites for landing. That such a difficult assault would be attempted, higly surprised the on duty «carabinieri». The attackers took advantage of this by gaining access to the principal building while. At the same time, an acquaintance general of the «carabinieri» friendly landed with Skorzeny. Combat supremacy was rapidly achieved.

Intelligence supposes complete, up-to-date and timely knowledge of the circumstances and characteristics of the mission. Here, with so limited employing means, intelligence is facilitated by different agencies and units that intervene with the mission, even those at the level of the state. Specially the CIA, the National Security Agency or NSA, the Central Security Service or CSS, that links with the NSA, and the FBI.

Security refers principally to the stages of planning, preparation, training and, if appropriate, stage of transport or insertion. It has active and passive aspects. Giving off misleading information and concealing the force’s real intentions up until the stage of action on the objective. Each person must only know what is necessary for his actuation.

Training must be generic for actions and tactics and specific for those actions required for the mission. Independently of this, training is necessary to achieve coordinated actions among units taking part simultaneously in some part of the mission. A general rehearsal of the mission is also necessary, including its planning duration and margins for mistakes. It is also good to include some variant that represents a mistake, an unforeseen event or a loss of combat or movement capacity. And that the men train in correcting them or, at least, in neutralizing them with his effort. For example, a part of the helicopters is knocked down or lands at major distance of the foreseen in the theoretical disembarkation zone.

The final «training area» must be similar in general characteristics to the «target area». And it must be placed at safe of detections and filtrations of information (security), which onlookers and interested persons can catch. The independent variable of «time» introduces sometimes unexpected and not always welcome effects. For example, a vehicle presents problems after a number of hours of hard use, that was not foreseen in tests of «at scale» time.

Surprise supposes attacking an enemy (even if arranged in prepared defense) at a point or flank that is neglected by him at the moment, giving the attacker a favorable «interface of action» on him. It must suppose a “tactical innovation”. Though it could also contain technical differential or new elements. Examples of such “innovations” in the past are hollow load bullets or charges and flame-throwers.

The surprise is the sufficient and necessary multiplier of the combat capacity of the «small incursion force». That will allow him to compensate the scanty military resources that it has on the area. To it joins his inconsiderate and carefully applied with rapidity employment. To provoke an overwhelming effect on the enemy, achieving the temporary local superiority. As being an «isolated military system», the incursion force of will receive neither reinforcements, nor supplies. For its part, the time is not neutral, here is an enemy: because there is not more operation time. From his depletion, the unit will confront the pursuit and his annihilation…

Speed consists in firmnessly acting, ahead of the enemy, in the successive elementary «cycles of action» that define a performance or process. It also presupposes acting with opportunities and with pace (adapted speed, relative to the enemy). Remember that an action cycle includes a phase of observation, a phase of determining the situation, the decision phase and the accomplishment phase. If one’s speed is greater than that of the enemy, his actions will be in response to situations that have already just passed.

Speed also implies rapidly reaching a situation of active supremacy in combat capacity. The enemy’s reaction speed is initially very slow as he is in a stupor, trying to verify what is happening. This means his phase of determining the situation will be lengthened. Deceptive action in these moments will lengthen the time that passes and fog the determination of the situation. Ways of doing this include utilizing some of the enemy’s uniforms, equipment or language by certain parts or subunits involved in the action. Once supremacy over the enemy is attained, it must always be kept. As scanty resources make its recovery very difficult. Once supremacy in combat capacity is reached, the probability of a mission’s success increases exponentially and the vulnerabilities of one’s forces are dramatically diminished.

The commitment of men and officers and their selection qualities, lend moral and physical courage to the actions they undertake. This is necessary to overcome uncertainty, stress, mistakes, diversions, enemy actions, and to take advantage of the always fleeting opportunities. Commitment supposes full knowledge of the mission and the full, voluntary and enthusiastic support of all participants.

Execution is carried out by establishing at the level of the regiment, battalion or company a center of gravity for the common effort, which harmonizes and consolidates the «missions» of its subunits.

THE END.

THE NATO’S RAPID REACTION FORCES.

George Bush’s strategic national doctrine established after the suicidal assaults of al-Qaeda in New York at 11 of September of 2001, that the «asymmetrical wars or of IVth generation» (irregulars and with low level of military means used) with the participation of the USA, would be supported overseas and without formal declaration of war. And that they were also necessary, to remove from the American territories and those of his allies, the threats of the “foreign fundamentalist terrorism” of any origin, religion or ideology. It justified the ill-fated post war occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. But, with a blowing up fiscal and exterior deficits and with a democratic renewed Administration, it is necessary for the USA to save in military resources.

The Strategic National Doctrine of the Americans democrats.

The new political philosophy is to dedicate now those recovered resources «to build a nation here, at home». This way, the USA lowered qualitatively the bar of the exterior terror, putting during the first mandate of president Obama, at al-Qaeda as almost the only one immediate “not national violent enemy”. This salafist internationalist terrorist «network», without own territory, with her operational chiefs known, fled and not wished as guests in any normal country, is a more attainable, adaptable and manageable target for his «rapid punctual incursion» forces and means. This new “strategic national doctrine” justifies the increase of the use of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (not driven planes for exploration and recognition and of bombardment), spy satellites, own or local agents placed in the hostile territory, assaults by elite operational units and by small expeditionary forces and of Marine’s amphibious assault, these transported in «command and transport ships» of strategic projection with his naval escort. The deployments of dozens of thousands of military men and with his luggage and equipment for several years in an operations theater, are rejected indefinitely by the new «doctrine» of the «diminishing defense».

This doctrine spreads and concerns, through the NATO, the strategic aims of his allies and the assigned and specific means to reach them. The training with IT programs is an example of the new practices in military training. Instead of moving soldiers by the Boot Camps or the vehicles in the maneuvers polygons of the mechanized or motorized units, the NATO is developing new “online artifices” to instruct their military personnel. And, though it could not be the norm of formation or training, the project is illustrative that the Alliance adapts to the new times of «financial global restrictions» for the Armies. In this scene of diminishing resources and threats still slightly valued or made concrete, the Defense Secretaries of the NATO, assembled at the end of February, 2013 in Brussels, decided to adopt some voluntary remedies. «It is a question of seeing if our nations resign their responsibilities because of the budgetary restrictions or if we demonstrate creativity and innovation and develop the necessary aptitudes to confront the threats in joint form», said Leon Panetta, American Secretary of Defense.

An Allied highly mobile «task force» for urgent missions.

The NATO will create shortly time a «sui generis» rapid reaction force (30 years ago were calling her of «rapid deployment»), that will form 13.000 cavalry and mechanized infantry soldiers, reinforced with artillery and engineers. It will be destined to be deployed in zones of conflict that are sensitive for their «global interests». Forget the Congo, Yemen, Somalia or Syria, which are not or are insufficiently interesting. This «great unit» will be formed by the Armies of the allied countries, who will incorporate into her their brigade or regiment type forces in a rotating form and for a minimal period of six months in duty tours. The experts of the Organization will design a “training plan” for them, which will last until 2020, until all the suitable units for these tasks have taken part in it.

«My call to the Allied Governments is that they stop the expenditure cuts (in Defense), that use better their resources (that already assigned) and, once the economy recovers, they begin to invest (in Defense) again. If the cuts continue, they will have a negative impact in our aptitude to provide defense and protection to our population», warned the secretary general of the NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, at the beginning of the mentioned meeting. The most drastic reduction in topics of Defense corresponds to Greece, which in 2011 diminished a 25 % his military expense, after having reduced it in 20 % in 2010. So, in 2012 his Defense’s budget was only 60 % of that of 2009. There are other four minor countries, which also have done substantial cuts in military systems, men and re equipments for the Defense: Slovenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Below them, though also with reductions of two digits percent, is Spain, which military expense fell 11 % in 2011, after two years of very significant reductions. In general, almost all the countries save in their Armies, included the United States, which realizes the major military expense attributed in the world (4,8% of his GDP). The Chinese items, proceeding from a collectivized and directed centralized economy, are not homogeneous or comparable to ours, because many usable chapters by the Chinese Popular Liberation Army can be included in books as expenses or investments of other Chinese departments and services. But the total falls of the resources at the level of the Alliance get damped enough, thanks to exceptions as the German, who has increased the expenses in Defense in the years of this economic world crisis.

His uses, operational limitations and abuses.

The operative employment of the rapid reaction multinational forces will be as airborne or of disembarkation «detachments», supported by the tactical aviation and the national allied warships. Their action would be over «limited goals» and placed in not extensive areas and looking for an operative projection, not only tactical. Her employment would have to be in a relatively short time, due to the limitations in her combat and logistics capacities. A joint utilization of this “division (-) of combined arms” would allow to attack only one or two hostile brigades, which were isolated from their operational rears and / or deployed in areas of difficult access («bad ongoing» ground) by land. Reciprocally, his defense capacity and «resistance» are limited. Nothing of trying to appease (they also call it «to «stabilize») something similar to a «Gaza strip». That is the wasp’s nest of an network of irregular «units» of motivated and trained terrorists. Deployed in reinforced defense positions echeloned in depth. And using an unfavorable ground (a urbanized one) for the armored and / or motorized enemies means. That would be the principal resources and capacities of combat and of movement of this » special division light » (better to use the And using an unfavorable area for the armored means (not necessarily they have to be the heaviest cars of the Allies) and / or become mobile enemies. That would be the principal resources and combat and of movement capacities this light «special division» (is better to use the English meaning, in order that he does not resemble the light infantry).

The headquarters of these multinational forces, destined to act in «located conflicts», that concern the security or the interests of the Allies, will be probably in Belgium. Some great American units, which subunits might take part in his composition by turns, are the 24ª motorized division and the Marine¡s divisions. The small elite units of the Rangers, the SEAL or the battalions and the engineers’ companies, would remain detached in tactical subordination to the brigades or regiments of the Rapid Force, realizing their specific tasks in the missions and complementing those of them. The forces of rapid reaction will be able to protect an oil installation or a port and even to help to suppress riots. But they will not be able to face an insurrection or a generalized assault against a friend country. Their detachments will be always highly vulnerable to the encircle and the harassment. Their operational possibilities only might increase qualitatively if their missions are coordinated with those of a ground army which operates in the tactical or operational surroundings.

Politically, the offensive action of the rapid reaction division forces, on having lacked rooting in the peoples of his operations zones and of continuity his military intervention, will turn out to look more brutal and arbitrary. And it will be more alike a police action than a military orthodox operation. It is sure, in addition, that the neutral or hostile governments to the West in the geostrategic regions where she acts, will reject the right that the NATO has assumed, to act as gendarmes of his “partial interests” in a zones so distant from their national territories. This way, from a hypothetical military, problematic and excessively punctual and short action, the NATO appears directly as guardians of his own «new order», in an epoch of international soft and lightened action ways. Where to use the «big stick», as convincing argument for the decision and when the politics and the diplomacy have failed in obtaining a reasonable solution, it is very frowned upon by all the delicate stomaches.

THE NATIONAL STRATEGY OF RUSSIA.

The first national foreign aim of Russian is to promote the «multipolarity in the world structure» of the great powers and his allies. Looking that does not exist a world hegemonic power as the USA, which hinders her in the extension of her influence and power from his «Euro-Asian center». For it, she will create alliances and will establish agreements and treaties with third parties in detriment or in substitution of that hegemonic power. And she will be a «intransigent obstructionist actor» in all the actions that this unilaterally promotes in the international forums (UNO, Atomic International Energy Agency).

NOTHING CALMING…

Another great strategic preference of Moscow is to extend his influence and to enlarge the economic and diplomatic bonds with the nations in development, specially those who have «natural resources and primary crops», that are necessary for the manufacturing production, the feeding and the general development of the nations. She has taken them and will take them even far, beyond of her geographical borders of political influence or military strategic.

The loss of her «controlled allies» in the Warsaw Pact and the COMECON, after the cold war, only leave Russia to geographically look for «new influences» towards the Central Asia, from Syria to the India and Vietnam. Turkey is a proverbial enemy of the Russians. In Afghanistan they could never have situated. Which is social political constant for other powers that have tried it in other moments. Also the Russians try to win and to keep in his «political and commercial sphere» the new Central Asiatic Islamic Turkoman republics and to the ex-Soviets Slavonic republics, these with almost none possibilities.

In the Turkestán Oriental, one finds a rosary of former Soviet socialist republics of approximately 2 thousand Kms of length, which reaches up to the oriental shore of the Caspian Sea. They are, from east to west, Kazajistan, Kirguistan, Tadzikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. That form a set of several ethnics, gathered in the names of them, but simultaneously extended over several countries. That are of Turkoman origin, from the central steppes of Asia, and agglutinated also by their belonging to the sunni Islam. These Turkoman Muslims are potentials allieds of Russia, in all that this puts a bit of dedication and neatness to attract and to attend them. And, till now, the Customs Union created by Russia includes only the White Russia or Byelorussia and Kazajistan. In addition, Russia has signed military agreements with Byelorussia, Armenia, Kazajistan, Kirguistan and Tajikistan. Established in the frame of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). And that guarantee to these countries at the East of Europe and in the Central Asia a defense against external or internal aggressions. And they offer to Russia an extension of her international influence.

PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA, BIELORRUSIA, KAZAJISTAN, KIRGUISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, ARMENIA AND TAJIKISTAN ASSEMBLED FOR ANTITERRORIST COOPERATION .

If Russia thinks that there are at stake her national interests or her national pride, it proves to be stuck-up and deigns and, even, aggressive. One of the neurotic tics of the exterior politics of Moscow is the dismemberment of the Soviet empire 25 years ago. That many attribute, not to her implosion, for lack of resources and economic expired structures, and of social motivation. But to international abuses, which benefited of her relating to the moment weakness.

When the Russians meet strategic international problems, they demonstrate more freedom of action, initiative, creativity and flexibility in his offers and actions. Russia uses the whole set of means and capacities of a modern State to go forward, to tease, to complicate and to deactivate the actions and the resources used by the West. This way, Russia uses the propaganda of State, employing: a great profusion of audio-visual communications, which we do not know in Spain; immediate refutations of the rivals’ arguments; employment of credible arguments to deny her relation with the observable facts; sending of humanitarian help in great and showy caravans to the zones in conflict. The diplomacy, where there faces John Kerry, a provisional struck politician, with Serguei Lavrov’s extensive career, and keeping meetings and visits with western chief executive agents and of the regional involved countries; doing declarations and agreements, which ended suspended, protested or broken; realizing attempts of bribe to European politicians of second level. The economy, as in the cases of China and of Spanish America. And answering to the western sanctions for her militar actions in Ukraine with measured suspensions and charges of her European imports, which are afraid by the Europe of the merchants. Military, sending: «paramilitary voluntary» forces; regular forces and military modern equipments, sometimes accompanied by the experts in their using or for their training; delivering weapon and military material to hier sponsored; and realizing «diffuse violations» of the air space of the countries at the west of her European border, more concretely in the Baltic sea and his coastal countries.

KERRY AND LAVROV.

Not they all are goodness and advantages in a super presidential regime. The concentrated and decisive power has to be administered in small doses, not to abuse, neither to damage, nor to fall down in the temptation of looking for his indefinite continuity. The despotism (that arises from the rotten conviction of the commands that «they» have «saved» a «his» mother land), the corruption and the clientelism, spread over the power circles and his boundaries, become manifest and customary in the society. The political and ideological opposition, with his critiques, parliamentary actions and street protests, can become almost unbearable. For whom are centered in planning, deciding and executing in altars of the people, but not with the people. The jail and the properties confiscation are reprisals used in all the times, which its origin gets lost in the night of the times, in the prehistory. Used against the dissidents, uncontrollable and disobedient and for all the potential (imagined or not) and real enemies of the regime.

In her relations with the West, Russia distinguishes two great «geopolitical spaces»: the USA and the European Union. The USA is the great rival, but not yet enemy. With that she tries to compete and whom she tries to erode in all the occasions to which she can reach. Russia follows the politic strategic theory of the multipolar world. That would possess several great «radiant centers» of influence and control. Where there would no be hegemonic global powers, which they could control and/or dominate more or less, according to their interests. This global strategy is well see by all the continental and, yet, regional powers, that possess sufficient capacities and international aspirations of projection and ascendancy.

Before the united Europe, Russia is seen herself as an equal. The first one exceeds her in demography and in economic capacity. And Russia has to her favor an AAFF, even the Branch of Strategic Missiles, sufficient and with only one Command. That are supported by her economy and diplomacy. Since she possesses a political, enough monolithic or integrated leadership. That, before a confrontation or an arisen opportunity, can operate with more major forcefulness and rapidity that the endogamic and paralyzed bureaucracy of the Union Europe. And opposite to the great geopolitical region of the Eastern Europe, formed by her former allied in the Warsaw Pact and the Comecom (the former economic communist union based in the specialization in national activities), has to act with a strategy of successive actions or of the artichoke. Because an excess of «pressure» over them, only would achieve that they agglutinate between them more; and link themselves more economic and militarily to the western nations…

But, also Russia uses the more or less veiled interference in the internal matters of her rivals. Seeking to create social problems and centrifugal trends, still heart-breaking, in their social fabric. Taking advantage for it of the freedom of expression, which is one of the values of the western civilization. This way, Russia acts against Europe supporting the most promising solvent movements. Some are populist and antisystem, which operate against the shared values and beliefs, which shape and form the western civilization. Others are nationalists and sovereignists, that fight against Europa’s multinational integration and his construction. This way, in Germany Police has materialized an «alliance» between the Youths of the Party Alternative for Germany (AfD) with the Young Guard of Russia. The man of connection between Moscow and the AfD is his vice-president, Alexander Garland. That re-joins regularly with Alexander Dugin, a man with the confidence of Putin. And the members and Euro MPs of the AfD support the movement of British euroexceptics and hinder the approval of the measures for the European construction in the Eurochamber of Brussels.

The political military extern action.

The operational strategy of Russia consists in acting by means of «emphasized» allies in a given geopolitical theatre. This way, she regionally uses these «interposed actors», more or less strong, independent and «sovereign». In order that they give her in the intervention in the conflict, (that her is seemingly foreign, as Russia is a middle-high continental power), a stamp of international category and legality and of reliability and seriousness before the international community, specially with the not western countries.

Also Moscow acts in the «diffuse external limits» of his former «imperial living space». She does it «supporting», with a great range of possibilities, almost made-to-measure, at different Russian or Christian communities, which are «separated» from the mother land. This way, there are some republics or «ethnic communities», apart from the two that we will mention in the case of Georgia, which receive the opportune help of Russia. They are the Transnistria, of etnia Russian, placed at the East of Moldavia, which is of Rumanian population, and Nagorno Karabaj, where live the karabajos Armenians, that is in the center of Azerbaijan, which is of sunni religion. Azerbaijan is frontier with Russia and with Turkey and receives the support of the last one.

Georgia:

In 2008, in her asymmetric and overwhelming war against Georgia, Russia was served by the «independents» of South Osetia and Abjasia (embraced at the North-East of the Black Sea), two «rebels» Georgian provinces. The pretext was to come to the defense of these nations, which had many Russian habitants, to defend them from the Georgian «arbitrarinesses and assaults». Already existed since years «Russian forces of pacification» in Ossetia of the South, which immediately took sides with the independents.

GEORGIAN TROOPS BAIL OUT A VEHICLE AT OUTSKIRTS OF GORI

Ukraine:

Following his direct, imperious and operating manners, in the middle of December, 2013, Putin threw a strong bet to Ukraine. In order that she was happening to form part of the Russian «sphere of coprosperity«: Putin offered her to lower 33 % the price of transfer of the Russian gas, of which Ukraine is recipient and reseller. And, to save her from the financial bankruptcy and she did not have to be thrown for it in hands of the Community Troika, he would yield her until $15 billions in beneficial credits. But, in Ukraine the social politics problems arisen have led to a strong polarization of the country, being formed two almost antagonistic halves. Where the part al the west of Crimea, wants to move away from Moscow and the half at the east of this peninsula, seeks to increase the bonds with Russia. Ukraine is for history and demography part of the Europe limited at the east part by the Urals. And Ukraine is by political opportunity and historical moment, part of the democratic and liberal western center Europe. That forms together with the United States, which operates as another fundamental «vibrant pole» at the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the «Western Civilization «.

For Russia, Ukraine is something more than a strategic ally. Ukraine is a part of the national Russian essence. In Ukraine was born many hundreds years ago, the strong and promising germ of the Russian nation, the Rus. And Russia has bet high. Trying to return for his rights, traditions and influences. Or she will have to accept with turning into a «national state«, without «coprosperity sphere» dependent, participative and profitable for all. So, a «regional or second-class power», as named her the president Obama at the beginnings of this crisis.

From the spring of 2014, the opposition armed in the Novarussia (this way, the prorussians separatists autoname his territory in the basin of the Donbass and adjacent zones) is supported by the Russians. That openly send military equipments (intermingled sometimes with convoy of humanitarian help for the civil population of the region); groups of internationalists «volunteers»: Cossaks, Russians, even prorussians veteran Chechenians; specialists (engineers, gunners, instructors, servants of short range missils and of anti-aircraft weapons, elite forces) for the high level military tasks. And pressing the central Ukrainians in the common border with movements and parkings of her motorized troops, at the west of Rostov on the Don. It deserves indicating that Novarussia’s republic is not internationally recognized.

The «national rebels» and the central government of Kiev, with the president Petró Poroshenko at head, have followed till now an operational strategy of give and take, of the strategic «cachumbambe«. Where everything is enough measured and reasonably controlled. To be advancing each part by short and few steps. Without the beast of the open warfare between nations and alliances irreversibly runs away. And so we are and will continue for long time. This way, the points of the Agreements of Minsk are dissolved and in «stand by» or in neutralized wait. Looking that do not break them, for the continuous small violations of the truce agreed by the parts.

POROSHENKO AND PUTIN…

A great problem appears now, not only to Ukraine, but to his neighbors at the east and west parts. And it is to obtain that the today antagonists and irreconcilable forces, that face in Ukraine, crushing his mother land, turn into complementary and necessary forces between them. And it is a great joint, disinterested labor, with height sights and directed by statesmen, which is necessary to develop to obtain it. In the case of not be obtaining this «merger of interests», the alternative would be bad for all, nationals and nearby and distant neighbors. And the wound only would be falsely closed and for an unforseeable time.

Syria:

From the beginnings of July, 2015, the Russians have been increasing his military direct presence in Syria. His armed forces have established themselves principally in the Latakia, covering Tarsus’s surroundings, his only naval base in the Mediterranean and his military airport. They include fighter-bombers, assault and carrier and rescue helicopters (with a centener of machines always operational), not driven aircraft of reconnaissance and bombardment and the corresponding ground units of support and of security. And now, from the ends of September, they are bombarding the positions of the armed rebels to the regime of al-Assad, at Alepo’s southwest; in the Latakia; near to Hama, Homs and Damascus, in the basin of the Orontes; in Idlib’s province and in the Turkoman zone close to the border; in Raqqa and other positions of the IS, in the North-East of the country and in the great desert of Syria. Recovering Palmira at the end of March, 2016, which fell down in May, 2015 in hands of the Daesh or ISSI. A spokesperson of the Russian Defense Department declared that «they would not operate there indefinitely» and that they were calculating that they would need «approximately 100 days» of air assaults. These days have doubled, up to almost the spring of 2015, before Putin was initiating a partial and sufficient withdraw of his military means. The Kurdish peshmerrgas of the YPG, the national allies of the USA, deployed by the whole center oriental border with Turkey, have not been bothered by the Russians. Between those who have suffered his unexpected assaults are the irregular forces of the Front al-Nusrah for the Liberation of the Peoples of the East, the national subsidiary of al-Qaeda. So dangerous and ideologically radical as the muyahidines of the Islamic State, but less cruel and less capable militarily.

To the reproaches of some western countries against this intervention, Putin and Lavrov argued that the «multinational Coalition of the 60 allies» was coming bombarding the salafists jihadists from September, 2014, without having for it a mandate of the UNO. Sure that Obama’s coalition was attacking in Iraq, with the theoretic and «previous daily permission» of the Iraqi government. In fact, the general of four stars James Terry, who is the chief of the American forces in Iraq from November, 2014, acts as an undeserved speaker for his high graduation, with the government and the discredited armed forces and Iraqi militias. But the assaults on Syria of the allies were not possessing the consent of his regime. And were going operationally supporting the peshmergas and debilitating the ISSI. Let’s emphasize that the Russians, as the mentioned leaders have justified themselves, «are very polite and are operating in Syria for invitation of his government».

It is of remembering that Syria was during decades the allied one in the Middle East of the USSR, and today, of Russia. And that Syria was considered also during decades a terrorist antiwestern state. Of the style of North Korea. That literally flooded the whole geopolitical Islamic region with the assault rifles AK and the grenade-launchers of hollow load RPG, for the guerrilla groups of “popular liberation”.

FRIENDS FOR EVER…

Russia wants to recover her international protagonism and respect. In spite of her diminished demographic, economic and structural capacities. And her loss of prestige democratic and politic, gained with the conflict of Crimea and Ukraine. But, with the military intervention in Syria, Putin attacks the root of the problem of the “fled Syrians”: that is the pressure of a cruel and long civil war on them. And it allows him to calm the Europeans with the short-term containment of the massive and constant invasion of those. Looking for an attenuation of the economic sanctions of the European Union to the government of Putin for his shameless actions in Ukraine.

Russia also supports and gives a strong accolade to the Syrian regime with her intervention. After 5 years of war, the National Syrian Army is exhausted and weaked by a bleeding of more than 70 thousand dead men, suffering continuous desertions towards the different rebels groups (from the Free Syrian Army to the jihadists groups) and having great difficulties to mobilize recruits. The soldiers at arms in April, 2011, if still are suitable, have not been licensed of the service. The militias sent by Hezbola’s shiis in 2014 to support them have not been sufficient to change the course of the war against al-Assad. The government already did not have enough men to realize counterinsurgency effective operations, against the armed rebels. Who were harassing him from numerous and divided «attack strips» through the whole Syrian geography. Especially, he lacks the «specialists» and means of the artillery and of the ground assault aviation.

Obama said: «the moral leadership is a weapon much more powerful than the brute force». This is true, when the concerned speakers possess and exhibit the same civil virtues that a democrat. But, when it is a question of beasts, of selfish, of madmen, of unscrupulous opportunists, of peoples that still perceive the force as the instrument of the strongest, this is not useful. It does not matter in the social level in which they are. The leadership is to convince, to direct with the example, to attract the persons towards oneself, for pure pleasure, affinity or mission. To realize a joint labor in benefit of the social group to which one belongs.

And this social role is left out by Obama in Syria. And also some time ago that he ignores, for carelessness or disability and lack of conscience of his identity, the European Union. The one that is not waited in “these fights and by these homes”. But, the political thing, the res politica, has horror and abominates of the «emptinesses», of the «absences». And, this way, he has been attracted by the suction of both, the opportunist of Putin, anxious to lead another more international episode. For that his people, from the first of 2014, proudly endorses him. To compensate his impoverished national revenue and his diminishing demography, Putin gives them international protagonism and national pride.

On March 14, Putin began to dismantle his military deployment in Syria. But left it sufficiently capable, in order that the NSA could expel from Palmira, a few days later, the guerrillas of the ISSI. Possessing the support of the Russians elite infantry forces and heavy air fire for his ground motorized forces. With it, Putin partly removes himself of the peace conversations of Geneva for Syria. And stays, as the only speaker with the not miscible and schizophrenic miscellany of the rebels, the regime of al-Assad. Because, if not, with whom are the jihadists and the National Council of Syria going to negotiate? In this absurd mixture are, between others, the Army of the Conquest, the Muyahidines of Syria, the Army of the Islam, the local Kurds, the Islamist Front anti al-Qaeda and local groups of «partners» to someone. Only in Idbil’s province, at the North-East of the country, in the border with Turkey, there existed more than 100 «different» rebel «groups». And Putin saves himself to return, if he considers necessarily. As he only withdrew around a third of his air operational forces. And he goes forward the movements of the Coalition, which still has not put foot in land. Though Arabia and Qatar offered in February to send ground troops to the conflict. But, how were they going to coordinate and operate in a «polyhostile» territory and without authorization of his government?

Russia uses the Economy as one of the means of her National Strategy.

Using the economy, one of the forces of the national strategy or great strategy of a country, helped by the diplomacy, other one of the potentials of her, Russia seeks to create with the emergent countries «cores of action and shared prosperity». Those Initiated or cultivated in a world that Russia wishes that would be «multipolarized» in diverse «cores and centers of geopolitical power». That they necessarily reduce this way, for their mere existence, the great western powers, today «dependents of the world trade».

The relations with communist China:

China is for Russia a partner, competitor and rival, if serves this polyvalent definition, which does that none of the expressions used is in fullness. Both are «emergent powers», according to the new nomenclature. Determined in growing, in not be directly damaging for the moment and in eroding the hegemonic power and his Europeans allied. This way, the Chinese would not act directly, not by third interposed countries, in Syria or in Iraq, in the boiling cauldron of the Asia of the Southwest: scene of the global contest that sunnis and shiites develop for the control and the supremacy in the Islam.

But they will do it collaborating uo to a point with the interests and the diplomatic propositions of the Russians. Reinforcing this way a political common position of counterweight and neutralization of the influence of West in the zone. And in exchange for a certain Russian reciprocity in favour of the Chinese interests, in other countries in which do not collide the national influences of both.

PUTIN AND XI JIPING, AFTER SIGNED THE GAS AGREEMENT

With his habitual opportunity and operational agility, Putin signed with the president Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the 21st of May, 2014 a strategic contract (30 years of validity) to supply to China around 38 billions of ms3 of Russian gas every year. Certain it is that the negotiations of this transcendental contract have extended during a decade, but the opportunity of his signature for both partners is undeniable. Russia has determined his signature lowering a little the price of transfer, which has not leaked out, and that was the principal obstacle for the agreement between Russian State entity Gazprom and the National Corporation of the Oil of China. There will be begun immediately the installation of a new gas pipeline between Siberia and China, which will cost 55 $ billion and that will be operational in 4 years. China obtains this way a stable supply of part of his energetic primary needs (about 25 %), which will allow him to be reducing his strategic dependence of his national coal. Whose combustion is the principal generating factor of the massive pollution that suffer nowadays the great cities and the industrialized coast of China. It is calculated, according to the official estimations, that China will need 400 billions of ms3 of gas by the year 2020, doubling the current consumption of gas. Which opens the possibility for new extensions of the Russian supply In the frame of this agreement. By his part, looking for alternative markets for his primary energy, Putin reduces transcendency and efficiency with this commercial operation, to the babbling actions of the European Union. For replace part of the supply of the Russian gas, using other hypothetical suppliers of allende the seas. And, in addition, any strangulation of the current service by his buyers, will force the EU to increase his help to Ukraine, to compensate his «reduced income» for the passage of the gas by his territory.

This agreement of energetic supply between Russia and China untied on Thursday, the 21st of May of this year the fears of the European Union and stood out his disability of joint and efficient reaction. The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, sent a letter to Vladimir Putin, demanding from the Russian president that ihe fulfills his commitments and assures «the supply to the European companies in the decided level». Barroso received the order from the European chiefs of Government of answering in their name to Putin. In spite of that this had gone directly to several members states, to indicate them the problem that they would untie with the establishment of economic sanctions to Russia. «I write you in name of the European Union and his 28 States members«, Durao Barroso headed his letter. «I ask you for a constructive approach» to the created situation. And it was useful to indicate him that the fact that Gazprom should assure «a responsible supply» goes «in interest of all», included Russia. In a conference that took place the same day in Poland, the president of the Commission (The Concil of European Commissioners or Secretaries) he said that Moscow exports 80% of his oil and 70% of his gas to the EU. And that «is by far the most attractive market for Russia».

THE ARMED DEFENSE OF THE ISLAMIC STATE OR DAESH.

Introduction.

The Islamic State has the strategic advantage of his territorial unity, which allows him to support the fights following his interior communication lines. His enemies are dispersed by his borders and operate in multitude of combats sectors or strips. This advantage can be used to fix and keep his enemies, dispersed and operationally unconnected for the different countries and zones. This way, IS preventing them any concentration to attack him.

So, in his Mosul’s operational center, with approximately 2 million habitants, the major city under his power, and the third of Iraq, he keeps the Erbil’s peshmergas fixed, the capital of the Iraqi autonomous Khurdistan. These are not capable of throwing an individual offensive, to go snatching cities and zones from the ISIL and are kept at the defensive. They are Sunnis Kurds, that do not want to coordinate with the army of Iraq and the sectarian Shiites militias.

ABU BAKER AL-BAGDADI.

In Anbar, the ISIL occupied al-Ramadi, its capital, where the Iraqi army went out, here also, at the disbandment, in an unforeseen and accelerated retrograde march. Los iraquíes culparon de sus desventuras operativas a una gran tormenta de arena, que facilitó la “marcha al combate” de los muyahidines del DAESH. And he threatens the western flank of Baghdad, which says to be training and concentrating forces to recover her, departing from the new base in Taqaddum, at 25 km from al-Ramadi, where are a reinforce of 450 new American soldiers of the four stars American general James Terry. Which acts as a bolt, a ground perpendicular obstruction, against the projection of the ISIL over Baghdad.

The Islamic State has now three great operational areas.

The first great zone includes all the south of the Caliphate, from Aleppo’s south-east up to al-Ramadi, following the course of the high Euphrates. In her, the ISIL is spreading and being consolidated, occupying Palmyra city, finishing the expelling of the National Syrian Army from Dar-ez-Zour’s province (his last troops in her are surrounded at the west of the capital) and the Iraqi soldiers and the Shiites militias from Anbar’s province. At the west of Palmyra are Tiyas and the military airports of the Shayrat, occupied by the NSA, which are vulnerable targets for the ISIL, capable of attacking them from two marching directions. With it, a western defensive flank, directed to Damascus, might be established.

In the north of Iraq, the ISIL keeps his positions in Nínive’s province and part of Saladin’s province, so being consolidated also in the high Tigris.

In Syria, at Aleppo’s north and north-east, along around 400 Kms. of the border with Turkey, up to Hasaka’s frontier province, the ISIL keeps a strategic base, using small offensives and tactical retreats, in a zone of great operational instability. Trying to debilitate the Front al-Nusrah (near the frontier Azaz), the Syrian peshmergas (in Kobani) and other opponents groups and to keep open the narrow frontier sectors, Ras al-Ayn, between others, where he realizes his exchanges of crude oil and derivatives, seized goods, armaments and new supporters. Also he wants to stop the offensive of the opposition in Aleppo, since the ISIL does not have now free means to exploit any destabilization in Aleppo, that would be produced this way. But in Hasaka he wants to be consolidated, to increase his geographical continuity, to protect his frontier passages with Iraq and Turkey, here is Tel Abyad, and to increase his strategic rear, reinforcing this way the Palmyra’s projection over Damascus.

AN EXECUTION IN PALMIRA.

Turkey, which wants to keep in his south border a difficult military politic balance of power, suspects so much of the (Syrian) Kurds of the YPG and of the ISIL, both approaching in force to his territory. And Erdogan is considering to establish a safety zone of 10 Km. in depth in Syrian territory from the common border, occupying her with around 12 thousand Turkish soldiers. From her, the Turks might also partially control other more 25 or 30 Km. in depth, using his heavy artillery. It is a thorny and controversial topic, of international indefinite transcendence, so the command of the Turkish AA.FF. has asked Erdogan for a formal wrote order, that the President still has not granted.

The air bombardments of the Coalition of the 60 nations, assigned to the Operation «Inherent Resolve», erode and cause casualties to the Islamic State during almost one year. But they do not stop his military principal operations of fixation of his enemies and of increasing the territory of the Islamic State. At less that the western countries, including the USA, the NATO and the European Union, in any degree and practical necessary national combination, are ready and resolve to put on the Syrian and/or Iraqi territories a “sufficient investment of their own soldiers”, in the form of combined ground forces, distributed in the combinations adapted for the tasks that they will assume, the ISIL will not be beaten by his enemies of these Arabic infected countries. And it seems that the ISIL will possible be indefinitely defend from his frontier enemies. In the air raids in Syria take part Arabia, the USA, Bahrain, Canada, the Arab United Emirates and Jordan. In Iraq, asking for the authorities permission attack Australia, Belgium, Denmark, the USA and Great Britain.

The Geographical Scene of the Islamic State (ISIL).

This organization acts in a diffuse, not occupied, but controlled strip, of 300 thousand Km2., that spreads over Iraq and Syria, from Baghdad up to Aleppo and the mountains of the center west of Syria. The width changes along the route. The pillaged territory begins in Faluya, at 60 km to the west of Baghdad, and includes the nearby cities of Habbaniya and al-Ramadi and and Anbar’s extensive and desert province. And, following the Euphrates towards the northwest, it reaches the riverside cities of Haditha and Âna, before penetrating in Syria by Abu Kemal, leaving behind Níniveh and part of Saladin provinces. In the middle of the south and eastern desert of Syria, only relieved by the river, is Dayr al-Zawr. And continuing by the river, we come first to Raqqa, close to the river mouth of the river Belikh in the Euphrates. And then to the artificial lake al-Assad in the great meander of the Euphrates, to continue up to Aleppo and the Kurdish mountains of the center west, in the border with Turkey. Up to 10 million persons might be controlled by the ISIL in this territory.

EXECUTIONS OF ENEMIES OF THE DAESH

It is not easy to move by these lands, which are infertile, beyond the irrigations of the Euphrates and of the artificial lake of al-Assad, without leaving a «tactical fingerprint» of the march. The lands of this great strip lack concealments and natural covers, in the shape of forests, extensive bushes and mountains. This does that the most frequent refuges and stays for the yihadists groups are the villages and populations along his backbone: the Euphrates, his aluentes, as the Jaipur in Hanaka’s province, and his banks. For his defense and more lasting cover they have to disperse by them, forming one or several «muyahidins squads» of not more than 40 men each one.

Operational decisive possibilities.

In any case, the fight in the occupied territories by the Islamic State is an urban fight. It is not an area for a movements warfare. It was so in June, 2014, when the Islamic State spread out, uncontrollably and overwhelming, by the north and north-east of Iraq. And the 30 thousand Iraqi soldiers of the Niniveh and Saladin provinces, went out, afflicted and in stampede, towards Baghdad. Looking for protection and refuge between the walls of the gigantic city and his al-Sadr shii neighborhood, at the east of the Tigris (known as al-Sadr city). And it before the simple «march to the combat» of several hundreds muyahidins. Mounted in Toyotas pick-ups, half “roof opened”, without any armoured and armed with light cannons and heavy machine guns. Certainly, who does facilitate the always present Toyota vehicles to the muyahidines? Some neoconverted concessionaire to al-Bagdadi?

THEY LOVE TOYOTAS, WHOSE PAY IT?

The operational strategy of the irregular bands of the Islamic State centres on never let been got in combat by the Armies or other great forces in «lost in advance» combats. His technics and tactics are the constant and far-sighted mobility; the dispersion and the infiltration in the urban fight, going forward in a flexible and wearing out defense, with space cession; the small, dispersed and more or less simultaneous or sequential actions in an area; the flight by covered bounds; the fight with limited goals and in profitable temporaral conditions; the systematic giving up of positions, forcing the enemy to redeploy and to be prepared every time. They can win to the ISIL the necessary time to survive.

In the temporaral occupations of great populations, they extend his defensive positions beyond what it is necessary in the conventional defense. Covering this way a major surface. His «delaying points» are diffuse, secret and imperceptible to the strangers. It is necessary to enter the houses to detect perforated walls and to find alleys under a furniture or a carpet. The destruction that generates the vague heavy fire, reinforces his combat positions, surrounding them with debris that divide and impede the accesses of the enemy. Except when they are reached by one direct impact. The “resistance nests” have more importance in this fighting form. Because the occupation of the defense zone is more tenuous, they cannot strengthen too much the positions, the sights are more short and there exist numerous approximation routes. They depend on the delaying points, to which they return if they are invaded or destroyed. Numerous “alternative positions” exist. This “resistance structure” allows to deceive the enemy, who attacks and burst, on the forward limit of the defense position: about his real extension, the limits of the sectors that form her and the interest of the rebel commands in the defense of the zone; and manages to disperse the heavy fire of the attacker.

THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA IN THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT

REGIONAL PRECEDENTS

The Organic Structure of Social Power in the Arabic Countries.

The internal relations of the families and the groups of local families and clans, are characterized by incorporating into them certain rites, rules, attitudes and taboos. This set of «social procedures» gather, value and quantify his vital needs, his primary emotions and his beliefs. The Moslem religion is followed in the wide geopolitical zone that we treat. Almost all they are of the sunni branch. This accepts the Koran and the Sunna of the Prophet, his facts and sayings (hadithes) due gathered by the disciples, as the orthodox sources of Allah’s revelation to the men. The differences between they reside in the rigor with which they examine and accept the sources of the Sunna. And this assumption of the Islam forms a part of the social inculturation, affirmation and cohesion of these groups.

The social code, which receives different names according to the countries, establishes certain rights for the individual and demands of him certain social duties, towards the family, the clan and the tribe. The disputes on women, gold or valid money and lands are in the origin of the sustaiined hatreds between the tribes. And they must be sustained up to avenging the perceived affront. The own fragility and weakness of the society demands the appearance of the protective values. These might be the hospitality, the loyalty, the friendship, the scorn to the foreigns, the revenge of affronts and hurts, the individual and collective honor. Each of them protects and enlarges in some measure the human group. The relations are interpersonal, in the areas of the family, the clan and the region. They are projected by the opportunity, the nearness, the exchange of goods and the relation. And they become strong with the loyalty, the respect of the accepted procedures and the time of treatment. And depending on the accumulation of these elementary successive acts. The hospitality takes implicit the reciprocity, when one travels, is alone and is not aggressive. This sometimes is perfected by the endowment of an escort to the traveler in insecure zones. The violation of this «escort» by an assault supposes a serious affront for the clan that provided her. The loyalty between the members of the group, for very unstable that is sometimes, cohesions the group. The honor inflates the autoesteem and the appearance before everybody. The revenge, in absence of a real institutional justice, looks for punishment and then repair of the hurts and affronts real or perceived. The scorn of the foreigns not adorned with good qualities or menacing to the group, seeks to prevent them “a priori” his integration in him, as a form of passive defense. The tied friendship tightens the bouns with the equals and the group. If someone joins these elementary groups, it is an object of loyalty and friendship in a personal way. These values would increase by his action, modes and personal behavior.

TWO SELFISH «ALLIES»…

The natural tribal authority is organic, born from himself, structured in his familiar units or social cells. The smaller and isolated is the social group, the power of his natural authority will be the more moderating and of integration, acting as the first between the «equal ones». In these cases, the meeting of the active members (men, hunters) of the clan in assemblies, yurgas, etc., have the supreme and decision-making value. And it is sanctioning of the deviant or solvent conducts to the group. The local chiefs are like favoured negotiators with the different regional and national governments. They enjoy a personal authority more than institutional. And, sometimes, his decisions can be ignored by the adult males, if they are not confirmed by these assemblies. The more be perfected and advance towards the exterior the society, modernizing and being complicated, the power of this authority will become strong and grow and will spread in economic and political areas of action.

This natural tribal structure gives the real practical value and sense to the loyalties and the mundane interests, always relative and still opportunists, of the Arabs. Graphical, paradoxical (for going abreast against the educations of the Islam) and still excessively, we might express it this way: «My tribe and I, against the world; my clan and I against the tribe; my family and I, against the clan; my brother and I, against the family; I, against my brother».

The acelerated Development of the Syrian Civil war.

From the pacific multitudinous manifestations for almost the whole country that was realized at the beginning of 2011, the social revolt has given an important qualitative step in his development and extension. It has become more radical and has «taken the weapons» against the regime. Extending his «social commotion waves» all over the country, to all the participants, to the neighboring countries and up to the foreign powers

Far there already are the manifestations of the young opponents, which did not see to the violence as an acceptable option of national liberation. Nevertheless, some analysts defend that the illegal executions of soldiers, policemen and civilians sympathetic with the regime began almost from the beginning of the widespread protests. And others attributes this radicalization of positions to the selective and progressive repression of the regime.

PESHMERGAS IN KOBANI (A CANADIAN VOLUNTEER)

To this joins the increasing islamization of the armed opposition. Initially the manifestations were beginnig from mosques or central places. And then, worship was begun to give to the «martyrs» and using the islamist rhetoric in the communications and declarations and in the name of the irregular revolt groups. From the shout in the first videoes hung on the Network or sent outside the country «the people wants the fall of the regime», they have passed to «the people wants the proclamation of the Yihad by the ulemas and mufties». This raising is not lay. It is a raising led by more or less practicing Muslims of the Islam. Lay is the corrupt and greedy regime of the Assad, where the not Islamic confessions were respected and protected. And that has lost the aptitude to defend and to represent the people. This is the “social justification” of supporting and respecting an exclusive dictatorship, almost always dynastic, in exchange for his class privileges.

IRAQIS TRAINING TO FIGHT HOUSE TO HOUSE.

The government of the Assad and his political equipment have left forming a lot of time ago a socialist and national regime. Since they neither represent, neither defend, nor integrate the particular and collective interests of his nation. Now they only lead and protect the members of the wide social religious oligarchy, that monopolizes and distributes in different degrees the institutional, social and economic power of Syria. The Syrian regime is crystallized, without fluency, so much socially, as ideologically and administratively. And is turning into the rind of a «political social fruit», withered, sterile and empty.

For the schemes of the foreign, calm television viewers in his houses at many Km. from the violent facts, the combats are ferocious. But it resides in that to the enemy who tries to kill or to mutilate you from covered and reinforced positions, first he is softened by the direct heavy fire, you cut his retreat occupying a crossing street beyond and his defensive position is assaulted from the ceiling or from the soil, by successive assured bounds, if he has managed to last so much (very strange). Unfortunately here are of no use the romantic resources of «shoot you first, gentlemen rebels». To obtain the decision and to come to the end, the better thing is to show the teeth from the beginning and acting with determination. Though neither the military men nor the rebels have the doctrine or the experience of the urban fighting…

THE INTERVENTION OF THE FOREIGN POWERS

American Initiatives against the EI.

In September, 1914, the USA coordinated a global alliance of western and Arabic nations to stop militarily the sweeping advance of the Islamic State, before the urgent request of help of Iraq. For it, the allies would not deploy combat ground units. It has passed a year of daily dedication to the air selective bombardment, producing more than 7 thousand air attacks to him over individual targets in Iraq and Syria (combat and of heavy fire positions, command or communication buildings, vehicles, training centers) and a vague number of effective falls, between 5 and 8 thousand militants of the EI, with diverse degrees of training and implication. But, the conceptual and operational coherence of the air allied action, has not managed «to debilitate, nor to degrade, and not even, to destroy», paraphrasing the president Obama, the Islamic State with his actions. Which has counter-attacked lately in al-Ramadi, the Anbar’s capital, removing, by the fault of a sandstorm, the glorious armed forces of Iraq; in Palmira, establishing a projection towards Damascus; in Deir ez Zour, occupying the capital and surrounding the Syrian military forces deployed at the west; in Hanaka, disputing the great frontier northeastern Syrian province to the peshmergas of the YPG and relieving the pressure that the EI receives at the east of Alepo and on Raqqa.

MR. ASHTON CARTER.

The artillery, the aviation, with his heavy and precise fires, allow to blind, disturb, neutralize and still to destroy the groun enemy, in increasing order of hurts and effects. The heavy fires support the ground forces, in an employment of combined arms. And to beat the fortifications, the positions of combat, of heavy fire and of antitanks, the enemy bolts, perpendicularly established to the own advance, and the enemy reserves in the different levels of action and to realize the fight counter batteries. The ground forces are those that occupy, clean, clear and keep in the own hands, the attacked enemy positions. Frustrating the reappearances of the enemy between the rocky debris or the nearby bushes and rejecting forceful and definitively his local counter shocks and his more deliberate counterattacks.

THE HEROE OF THE GREAT TASK, GEN. JAMES TERRY…

In the summer of 2014, the United States began to train to Syrian sunnis young volunteers to integrate them, at a beginning, in the weaken and demoralized Free Syrian Army (FSA). His tasks were to attack so much the military forces of Bashar the-Assad, the National Army of Syria (NAS), as the salafists yihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in the Syrian zones where they were deployed. Reinforcing, this way, the order of battle of the FSA. The training fields of this light irregular infantry were placing in the oriental center of Jordan. Before the recruits’ acceptance, it was established an ideological political filter, directed to detecting possible yihadists or governmental volunteers and that turned out to be a fiasco, for its results. In this training of several weeks also took part, according to the sources, France and Great Britain, and even, apparently, Israeli commands. The initial plan was to manage to train up approximately 5 thousand men, using several batches of recruits. But the attempt got reduced to graduate from the » boots camp» around 3 thousand men, of which, the majority simply deserted. And the rest of the mediocrely formed joined different radical rebel armed groups in Syria.

IRAQIS WILL FIGHT FINE AGAINST THE WIND…

Another attempt of forming Syrian soldiers of lay or moderate ideology was based on a training plan of «up to 15 thousand Syrians voluntaries » on Turkey. Other sources talk of forming 5 thousand soldiers. But both numbers turn out to be ridiculous for the magnitude and complexity of the tasks that would entrust them and for his poorly «combat specific capacity», which would say the expert colonel Trevor N. Dupuy. The date of ending of his «plan» never was ventured by the American oficials in charge. In view of the «deficiencies» previously detected, a very high level of exigency was established in the selection of the men to forming. As consequence of it, only a few dozens of volunteers have been trained since then. And we think that they possess a conviction and motivation flaccid and blurry. It is of indicating the case of the «so called» 30 ª division of the FSA, formed by less than 80 soldiers and that entered Alepo’s zone on July, 2015. In less than one week of «operations», 12 were kidnapped and 18 were hurt, by the irregular of the Front al-Nusrah. It was the first group or batch of Syrian rebels that Washington instructed in the neighboring Turkey. Also was get prisoner by the yihadists, the commander of 30 ª division, Naim Hassan. Al-Nusrah also attacked his barrack at the north of Aleppo, and the rest of the divisional force, around 30 terrified soldiers, ran to sheltering in Afrín, a Kurdish enclave in the north of the province. We think, simply, that the rebels trained by the USA refused to face the salafists yihadists of the al-Qaeda’s franchise and simply broke and got dispersed.

NOBODY IS SHOOTING AT THEM…

This way, the ground forces with could count the USA and his Coalition in this geopolitical zone, to attack the EI in his controlled territory, are: the Iraqi army, who in the spring of 2014, before the Great Disaster, was possessing 200 thousand theoretical men in his battle order; the peshmergas of the Syrian YPG and of the autonomous Kurdish government of Iraq, and the sectarian shiis Iraqi militias, theoretically obedient to the government of Baghdad, but trained and guided by the Iranians. The Iraqi peshmergas received permission of Turkey to cross his territory to attack from the north Kobane’s frontier city, occupied by the IS. Managing to liberate it in a joint effort, including the allied aviation. But, in February, 2015, they were unable to at least harass the «wreckers escorted squads» of the Islamic State, who were demolishing Nimrud’s archaeological deposit, in Niniveh’s province, placed half a way between Mosul and Erbil, his capital.

IN AMERLI, BEFORE THE SUNNIS VILLAGES’ MASACRE, AUGUST 2014…

The shiis militias were activated from the summer of 2014 by the general Qassem Suleimani, sent urgently by Teheran, in support of the shii government of al-Maliki. To compose a rapid containment dike to the advance of the sunnis of the IS. After Mosul’s capture and his appearance in force for all the north and center of Iraq in June and July, 2014. And to realize the enormous task of giving these militias, supported by units of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran (the pashdaran: the army of the guardians of the Islamic revolution), a sufficient action unity and a combat motivation. And to try, by measured, short and successive steps, to be defeating and displacing the yihadistas of the IS, in hard combats, which will be fundamentally urban.

Russia takes an Initiative in Middle East.

From around the beginning of July, 2015, the Russians have been increasing his military direct presence in Syria. His armed forces have principally established in the Latakia, covering Tarsus’s surroundings, his only naval base in the Mediterranean. They include fighterbombers, assault and of troops movement and of rescue helicopters, not driven aircraft of exploration and bombardment and the ground corresponding units of support and of security. And now, from the ends of September, they are bombarding the positions of the armed rebels to al-Assad’s regime, at the southwest of Aleppo; in the Latakia; close to Hama, Homs and Damascus, in the Orontes basin; in Raqqa and other enclaves of the IS, in the north-east of the country and in the great Syrian eastern desert. A spokesman of the Russian Defense Department declared that «they would not indefinitely operate there» and that they were calculating that they would need «approximately 100 days» of air assaults. The Kurdish peshmerrgas of the YPG, the national allies of the USA, deployed by the whole center eastern border with Turkey, have not been bothered. Between those who have suffered his unexpected assaults are the irregular forces of the Front al-Nusrah for the Liberation of the Peoples of the East, the national subsidiary of al-Qaeda. That are so dangerous and ideologically radical as the muyahidines of the Islamic State, but less cruel and less militarily capable.

THE USELESS AND SECTARIAN IRAQ’S EX-PRIME MINESTER.

To the reproaches of some western countries against this intervention, Putin and Lavrov argued that the «multinational Coalition of the 60 allies» was bombarding the salafists yihadists from September, 2014, without having for it a mandate of the UNO. Sure that Obama’s coalition was attacking in Iraq, with the theoretical «previous daily permission» of the Iraqi government. In fact, the four stars’ general James Terry, who is the commander of the American forces in Iraq from November, 2014, acts as an undeserved speaker for his high graduation, with the government and the Iraqi discredited armed forces and militias. But the assaults on Syria of the allies were not possessing the consent of his regime and were operationally going to supporting the peshmergas and debilitating the IS. Let’s stand out that the Russians, as the mentioned leaders have justified themselves, » are very polite and are operating in Syria with invitation of his government».

OF WHOM ARE THEY LAUGHING…?

It is of remembering that Syria was during decades the allied in the Middle East of the USSR, and today of Russia. And that Syria was also considered during decades a “terrorist antiwestern state”. Of the style of North Korea. Literally flooding the whole geopolitical Islamic region with the assault rifles AK and the grenade-launchers of hollow load RPG, for the guerrilla groups of “popular libration”…

Russia wants to recover his international protagonism and respect. In spite of his diminished demographic, economic and structural capacities and his democratic and political loss of prestige, gained with the conflict of Crimea and Ukraine. With the military intervention in Syria, Putin attacks the root of the problem of the fled Syrians: that is the pressure of a cruel and long civil war on them. And it allows him to calm the Europeans with the short-term containment of the massive and constant invasion of those. Looking for an attenuation of the economic sanctions of the European Union to the government of Putin, for his shameless actions in Ukraine for more than year and a half.

Russia also supports and gives a strong accolade to the Syrian regime with his intervention. After 4 and a half years of war, the NSA is exhausted and impoverished by a bleeding of more than 60 thousand dead men, suffering continuous desertions towards the different rebel groups (from the FSA to the yihadists groups) and having great difficulties to mobilize recruits. The soldiers in ranks in April, 2011, if still are suitable, have not been licensed from the service. The militias sent by Hezbola’s chiíes in 2014 to support them have not been sufficient to change the course of the war against al-Assad. The government already did not have sufficient men to realize a few effective operations of counterinsurgency, against the armed rebels who were harassing it from numerous and different fronts or «assault strips» in the whole Syrian geography.

Obama said: «the moral leadership is a much more powerful weapon than the brute force». This is true, when the concerned speakers possess and exhibit the same civil virtues that a democrat. But, when it is a question of beasts, of selfish, of madmen, of unscrupulous opportunists, of peoples that still perceive the force as the instrument of the strongest, this does not serve. It does not matter in the social level in which they are. The leadership is to convince, to direct with the example, to attract the persons towards yourself, for pure pleasure and affinity. To realize a joint labor in benefit of the social group to which one belongs.

And this social role has been left by Obama. And also some time ago is ignored, by carelessness or disability, the European Union. That is not waited in “these fights in these homes”. But, the “political thing” has horror and abomina of the «emptinesses», of the «absences». And, this way, the opportunist of Putin has been attracted by the suction of both, anxious to lead another more international episode. For which his people, since the first of 2014, endorses it proudly. To compensate his impoverished national revenue and his diminishing demography.

The intervention of Iran in this Middle East conflict.

At the eastern end of the Middle East is the mumified Shii theocracy of the ayatollahs. These, when they want important and rapid results against his neighbors, use the commands or units of the Republican Guard (the Pashdaran). Which is training, equipping and supporting by diverse ways his coreligionists allies of Syria and of Iraq. The Republican Guard is overlapped in the Iranian regime, forming the unconditional and effective military wing of the Islamic Republic of Iran. She, as the Egyptian military men, possess an economic own very wide support. That guarantees them the operational independence and that generously rewards her dedication and loyalty in the fulfillment of his tasks and missions. The “al-Quds brigades” are a special elite group of he Republican Guard. He devotes himself to the espionage and to realize military actions as “deep incursion forces”. And they exhibit the whole capacities panoply for the surreptitious or dirty war between enemy nations. His commander in chief, the general of division 58-year-old Qassem Suleimani, is included in the list of the most sought terrorists by the USA. A detail: the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ali Jamenei, considers him to be a «living martyr of the revolution». Whom he incorporated in 1980, whith 23 years, in the incipient Republican Guard.

«YOU WILL BE A FATHER FOR HIM. HE WILL BE A SON FOR YOU».

After the advance of the Islamic State by the north and center of Iraq and the call of the Iraqi shii ayatollah Ali Sistani to the fight against him, Suleimani was sent by Teheran to activate the shiis militias. That were dispersed after the sectarian war. And Suleimani has obtained in a few months the vertebration of all the Iraqi militias against the IS. It has been the IS that who has extracted from the «shades and underground of the State» the general Suleimani. At the end of August, 2014 he appeared in Amerli, Saladino’s province, where it forced the yihadistas to move back. Iran immediately distributed photos of his general operating. But, after the setback of the IS, the shiis militias devastated dozens of sunnis villages of the zone, as collaborators or sympathizers of the enemy. Which is not a good omen for an evolution without sectarisms of the conflict in Iraq.

Likewise, units of the Pashdaran are also operating in Syria against the sunnis enemies os Bashar al-Assad. Reinforcing the Syrian National Army (SNA) and the weared out and insufficent Hezbola iregular forces.

THE FIGHTING AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAK AND SYRIA III.

(CONTINUATION)

Between the minor international branches of the salafist jihadist terror, that also have recognized the supreme authority of al-Baghdadi, emphasize the al-Shabab Somali militias. This is an excretion of the extinct Union of the Islamic Courts, which spreads over the south and east of the country. Al-Shabab follows a strategy of generalized terror, that resembles that practiced by Boko Haram against the black Christians of the fulani and yoruba etnias in the provinces of the North-East of Nigeria, where he has the bases. From time to time and with increasingly sickening efficiency, the al-Shabab bands penetrate into the neighboring Kenya, even they have come up to Uganda, looking for Christians «hunting trophies». And this in spite of the USA commands assaults with limited aims, directed by his regional command for Africa (Africom), which has forces in Uganda. And of the presence in Somalia of an important African pacification military force, that forms the Mission of the African Union in Somalia (Amisom), principally integrated by Ethiopians and Kenyans troops.

The Evolution of the Conflict.

After the retreat of the DAESH of Kobane, the jihadists have again begun to kidnap Christians in Hasaka’s Syrian province, in the Jabur valley, a tributary of the high Euphrates. The attrition air raids over opportunity targets or locally supporting and with different fortune, the Syrian or Iraqi peshmergas, as in Tikrit, the Sinyar mount, Kobane or Mosul, and the successes achieved by these, based on time, enormous caution and great effort, finally have done notch in the military capacities of the ISSIL. That now seek to reinforce against the bombardments and the ground attacks and to renew his varied financing sources. In these moments, the influence zones of the Syrian jihadists are in the basin of the Euphrates and in the mountains of the north of Syria. And they try to create them in the Orontes wide basin, with incursions in the Latakia.

The Christians captured as sheep, have in the hands of the ISSIL two hard and exchangeable destinations: to serve as hostages, looking for the rescue price, preferably paid by international organizations or to be used as human shields of the positions, fortifications, formation and training centers, mosques and marching columns of the jihadists against the aircrafts of 60 Allied nations of the Americans against the DAESH. This is the acronym of his name «al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham «, that use the majority of the Arabic countries to refer to the salafist jihadist group that operates in Iraq and Syria. And whose use allows not to call them State in the European languages.

Around the Jabur and up to the population of Qamishli, in the mountains of the Syrian Kurdistan, the jihadists are gathering hundreds of Christians, clustered by families and neighbors. To serve to his harmful and genocidal aims. Father Yatroun Colliana, from The Lebanon, has denounced, how not, in Naharnet’s local newscast, the passiveness of International Community, that limits herself to silently look in the face of the violations to the local Christian community. Finally, we will indicate that are the Arabic local chiefs, the negotiating intermediaries with the humanitarian organizations, the Christian Assyrians, the Kurdish peshmergas and the local self-defense militias, which are like policemen, only capable for labors of vigilance, parade and demonstration.

And now, in the middle of March, the Pope Francisco has not could less that to support the use of the civilized military force against these dressed in black vermin, which offend even their own religion. We will indicate, also, that, in the last months, several dozens of American former military men and civilians have gone to Iraq or to Syria, to help the Kurdish or Christian minorities chased by the ISSIL. Concretely, between December and February a small group of former soldiers trained a «battalion» of Christian Assyrians at the west of the Iraqi Kurdistan. They were approximately 300 civilians, who were joining the Christian self-defense of the territory forces and who received a basic formation in techniques and military tactics. Four voluntary American «advisers» already returned to home, as reports 35-year-old Matthew VanDyke. «We are where the governments fail. We need neither possess the vote of the Congress, nor to surrender to his limitations. And we can work very rapidly», concludes him.

At the beginning of June, 2014, the ISSIL threw a strategic offensive in Iraq, destined to consolidate his dispersed Iraqi enclaves (al-Ramadi, Faluyah, etc.) of the northern and center provinces in an only and extensive territorial unit. After assaulting Samarra, burst into Mosul and threw an «area action» in the provinces of Saladin and Diyala, in which the terrorists also appealed to their «sworn suicides». The assault of the ISSIL to Mosul added to the successively happened in several populations of Nineveh’s province. Confirming with all this the military and organizational capacities and the aggressiveness every day more clear of the salafist imperialist group and the governance and the leadership of his leader, Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. The expansion of the territory that the ISIS controls, so much in Iraq as Syria, are the accomplishment of the intention of al-Baghdadi of displacing the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, not as chief of al-Qaeda, but as the authentic successor of Osama Ben Laden in the modern jihadism.

The Middle East is the most convulsed and burning geopolitical region of our world. And for his nearness, energetic importance and forming a communications hub between three continents, is specially transcendent for us. In this region of the Southwest of Asia are solving several armed and parallel conflicts. Some, as the so called Arabic Israeli conflict extends for more than 66 years, three generations, between the Muslims, singularly the Arabs, and Israel, for a minuscule chunk of highly wished land. Which is a war between States, independently of his functional, religious and social asymmetry. It is also the » open war» between the Shiite and Sunnis branches of the Islam, some incredible «separated conflicting brothers», for the political social and religious hegemony in this religion. This makes concrete nowadays in the Near East in the civil wars of Syria and Iraq.

THE PASDARAN DISPLAY THEIR FLAG.

At the eastern end of the Southwest of Asia is the anti western Shiite theocracy of the mummied ayatollahs. These, when want important and rapid results against his neighbors, use commands or units of the Republican Guard. Also, they are called the Pasdaran, Persian for Guards. Which is training, equipping and supporting in diverse ways his allies co-religionists of Syria and Iraq. The Republican Guard is overlapped in the Iranian regime, forming the unconditional and effective military wing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, acting as the modern “Immortal of the Shas of Persia». She, as the Egyptian military men, possess an own very wide support economic. That guarantees them the operational independence and that generously rewards their dedication and loyalty in the fulfillment of his tasks and missions. The al-Quds brigades are a special elite group of the Republican Guard. He devotes to the espionage and to realize military actions with incursion forces. He exhibits the whole panoply of capacities for the surreptitious or dirty war between enemy nations. His commander in chief is the general of division 57-year-old Qassem Suleimani, of middle stature, beard and white hair, and is included in the list of the terrorists most looked for by the USA. A detail: the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ali Jamenei, considers him to be a «living martyr of the revolution», to which he incorporated in 1.980, when was 23 years old, in an incipient Republican Guard.

HE WILL BE A FATHER FOR YOU AND YOU WILL BE A SON FOR HIM…

After the advance of the Islamic State in June of 2.014 in the north and center of Iraq and the call of the ayatollah chií Ali Sistani to the fight against him, Suleimani was sent by Teheran to Iraq, to support the activation of the shiits militias, dispersed after the sectarian war. This way, Suleimani has obtained in the latter months the unity of action of all the Iraqi militias against the IS. It has been the IS that who extracted general Suleimani from the shades. And now he appears and there conforms the ideological military clash between the Sunniss followers of the Drawn Sword of the Islam and the foreign mercenaries of the al-Quds Brigades of Iran and the Shiites militias, that they encourage, support and train. At the end of August he appeared in Amerli, Saladino’s province, where he forced the jihadists to move back. Iran immediately distributed photos of his general operating. After the setback of the ISSIL, the shiies militias devastated dozens of Sunniss villages of the zone, as collaborators or sympathizers with the enemy.

Tikrit is a city of approximately 270 thousand habitants, which lengthened embraces both Tigris‘ banks, where from it takes his name, at approximately 140 Kms. from Baghdad. It is the capital of Saladino’s province and was occupied at the end of the June‘s offensive of the IS. In March, Suleimani threw to his conquest with a combined force of 30 thousand men, formed by disconstructed Iraqi military men, who contribute with heavy weapons, Shiites militias (now called Popular Units) and the Anbar‘s Sunniss militias, enemies of the IS, and supporting forces of the Iranian Pasdaran. It is not easy that the EI keeps there more than 5 thousand men for a rigid defense, with which Suleimani’s victory was sung. The Shiites attacked on March 6 at the north of the city and by Saturday, the 13^th, already only were resisting 3 principal neighborhoods and a luxury urbanization. The Coalition did not give air support to these operations until the end.

ENCOURAGING THE MEN AND POSING FOR THE NEWS MEANS…

The treatment that they give to Saladino’s Sunnis and of other areas will be an acid test to avoid another sectarian civil war in Iraq. It is not lawful to demand a loyalty due to the civilians, if the authorities are not capable of protecting them from the abuses of his enemies. The secretary of the Army of the Mahdi paramilitary organization, the militias of the clergyman Muqtada al-Sadr, Hadi the-Amari, asked his militias that were trying to save the habitants of Tikrit and that take care of them. But, Sadam Hussein’s extravagant mausoleum, placed near Tikrit, was reduced to a heap of rubbles. Saudi Arabia already has protested for this arrival in force of Shiites militias supported by the Iranian Guard, and the prince Saud al-Faisal, his Secretary of State, has accused Iran of militarily meddling » to take control of the country». Also the Council (Sunni) of Cooperation of the Gulf (Persian), formed by Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar (Bahrain, which is Shiite, does not integrate it), has protested for the entry of foreign ground sectarian military forces in the Iraqi conflict. Iran, for his part, does not conceal his participation in the recovery of the Iraqi forces and constantly transmits photos of the general Suleimani in activity. Before this intervention, the general only was appearing in public photos taken during his prayers.

The Destruction of the Bases of the EIISL.

The areas of this great geopolitical region lack in general of concealments and natural covers, in the shape of forests, extensive bushes and mountains. This does that the only refuges and temporary stays for the rebels bands are in the villages and populations and the nearby grounds. Which are gathering, forming elongated rows, which luminous are appreciate in the night from the sky, along the rivers, which relieve his thirst, and theirs banks. For their defense and cover they have to disperse for them, forming «mujahidins squads» of not more than 35 or 40 men. This group is the major one that can be coherently led by a local «sheikh». Throughout this environment are spies eyes. And the guerrilla movements are realized in view of all. In addition, not all the populations are defensible against the powerful military means, not even the rebels have the intention of doing so, in a rigid defense.

These bases are the geographical locations indefinitely controlled by the jihadists. They physically found on the bases to reform, consolidate, train and increase their forces. From them, operating as their principal «departure bases», they throw incursions and assaults with limited aim on their enemy, seeking to scourge or to expel him from the immediate territory that he occupies. The creation of these jihadists permanent cores depends on the measure in which the armed enemy is defeated and expelled from them, with consistency and certain duration. From the bases are carried out the captivation of sympathizers and militants of the revolutionary group, which is scarcely effected among the settlers, but, in its most, they already come motivated and decided from out. And this is like that though a part of their effort in the area of action and propaganda is realized producing videos, interviews, gazettes and papers for audio-visual wireless varied means: the edition, the production and the emission is located in the bases. In the bases, the socio politics action of the ISSIL is as intense or more than the formation and the military training of » mujaidines of Allah». She is necessary to establish and assure the motivation and the loyalty of the fightiers to the jihadist cause in the hostile mean that surrounds and harasses them.

The salafists jihadists groups have failed in active and firmly joining to a social wide group, which gives coverage and permanent impulse to their «social religious imperialistic movement». Their «violence catechizing» allows them to be mental prepared for the glorious and in peace death, and, even for the suicide, in the accomplishment of their military actions and goals. But this insane sermon is not a method for the conversion of social groups. And there is a fundamental reason for it: his radical «creed» lacks possibilities of acceptance, victory and permanency between the all masses, out of the needs in the temporary vicissitudes of a war. The jihadists groups act with an unnecessary and indiscriminate brutality, which discredits them before the Islam, the Koran and the Sunna or Islamic tradition, gathered in the Hadithes or Mohammed’s «comments and facts» wrote. This lack of religious legitimacy, provokes the absence of venerable, respected and pious ulemas and muftis at their side. His supposed «Islamic original ideology» is only based on a few favorable verses of the Koran (this has approximately 4.200 verses, which varied with the versions; the only exact and precise are his total of Arab letters) and on some historical favorable facts and not on the integrity and the intention of the message of the Islam. This socio emotional withdrawal from the local masses unfailingly does that the support of the neighbors to the occupants terrorist groups is involuntary, not attractive, always interested and dismotivated. With it the bases of the ISSIL lose their function of education of the settlers masses, to catch, create and incorporate new volunteers and active sympathizers to the groups; to practice and perfect the methods of action, education and propaganda; to assure to the active groups a strategic protective and received rear, in which they should not need to also be in guard towards those of inside.

The bases are social military forms with «regular and firm structure» of the jihadists. They present continuous and numerous targets to the action of the heavy means of their enemies, the aviation and artillery. Some are “opportunity targets», as all kinds of movements of the terrorists and the discovery of new positions. And others are «hard targets», known or to be reconnoitered: roar or railroad infrastructures, stores, refuges, meeting or command or communications centers, war material warehouses, infantry, heavy fire and defense against aircraft combat positions, observatories, goods transport, crude oil distilling, etc.

Traditionally, the guerrilla or rebellious bases have been protected from the assault of the military men by the distance, as in China; the inaccessibility (mountains, jungles) or the difficulty of the fighting forms (the fight inside a village presents immense secret islands to the sights and protected by all classes of walls, which are reinforced by their partial destruction and the debris accumulation). These jihadists bases are the only substantial, still and definite target that the terrorist bands offer. Where to be able to make them feel all the superior and available military power. Where it is possible to isolate them by sectors, to beat them by parts, without them could collaborate in the decided defense plan. Nor to flee, if the village siege is firm. And where they might act, if they had another spirit and other motivations, which neither offer the trainings, nor the military equipments, the peshmergas, Shiites and Sunnis militias and the national armies of Iraq and Syria.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

THE FIGHTING AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE IN IRAK AND SIRIA, II PART.

(CONTINUATION)

Contradictions of the ISSIL.

Since they do not have sufficient rooting between the Iraqi or Syrian population, to leave their temporal positions does not suppose abandoning the habitants to the armed enemy. The habitants of the occupied areas are not gained for the Jihad or holy war. These settlers are frightened, threatened and, at least, neutralized, in order that they give cover, subsistence and support to the jihadists bands and neither hinder, nor importune them in their activities. Only those that they cooperated with the » Enemies of the jihad » can be in danger before them. When they occupy a population, especially in the periphery of the Islamic State, the jihadists always prepare the evacuation routes towards the suburbs, and of retreat, from these to the established nearby meeting points. To escape from them to the reception or of occupation regional positions.

When they are liberated of the jihadists, many habitants, specially in the hamlets, try to flee temporarily and to shelter in the nearby major populations. The reason is that the imperious, inconsiderate and hammering despotism of the jihadists, is joined by the heavy fires of their enemies, used during the capture of the population. Both the military men and the rebels major groups (fundamentally the peshmergas) prefer avoiding their losses and hurrying up the evacuation of the jihadists, using the aviation and artillery, if they have it. Even, the free flight rockets with hollow load like the RPG-7V (an artillery of the poor), thrown in double or triple volleys, cause a devastating effect in the masonry or adobe buildings. This already would serve to make to withdraw towards downtown, the jihadists security forces from their anticipated positions, placed in the limits of the population or in adjacent points. And already finally, the Syrian army usually moves back soon, to realize other attack missions. So, the constant, fluid and up to reversible character of the military operations. Then, the jihadists can return and purify responsibilities. Because of all this, many civilians think: «once, but not more».

The decision, aggressiveness and the scorn to the death of the jihadists has given them military advantages over the lay rebel opponents. And his activity and significance is increasing in the military Syrian opposition panorama. In several Syrian provinces, as Raqqa or Deir al Zor, they have displaced the Free Army of Syria and have «settled» as the only operational rebel force. In December, 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria assaulted the headquarters of the Supreme Military Council of the lay moderate political opposition, in the frontier Turkish city of Bab al-Hawa and plundered the arsenals and depots. And the combats between rebels have been constant in the mountainous Kurdish regions during 2.014. All this took the USA and Great Britain to progressively suspending all kinds of military support to the Syrian rebels. For fear that parts of the proportionate means and supplies and reinforcements for the FAS, like the sunni commands trained in Jordan, lead to the elevation of the Western enemies.

TAKING A CONFORTABLE WALK, BUT, WHERE ARE THEIR ENEMIES?

Al-Baghdadi immediately established the Sharia, as civil and penal law of the caliphate. So, all the women, even the shops manikins, were forced to cover their faces, for not appeal the men with sinful suggestions. His Islamic courts apply the death sentence to different practices considered criminal, as the Muslim women’s rape, the homosexuality, adultery and blasphemy and some cases of thefts. The unfaithful or heretics people (Christians, yazidis, shiites, mandeos, etc.) that do not turn to the sunni Islam (initially they thought to make pay the Christians some exaction for the ISSIL), are violently chased. This way, successively, their houses are marked, their goods, seized, their wives, raped and their children, murdered. The pursued suffer summary executions and are taken as hostages, to collect rescues. There have been denounced of persons’ decapitations that deny to the conversion, including women and children, and the exhibition of their corpses in the public squares. This unleashed a religious genocide specially in the Iraqi areas of the rotter caliphate, which has provoked a massive flight of persons of the minorities towards the neighboring countries, Turkey, Jordan and The Lebanon, generating a refugees’ serious problem in them.

In his zeal for obtaining the adhesion of new followers, the ISSIL looks at West. His preferential aims are the deceived young persons, mentally unmotivated and ideologically, not educated in the virtues of the European civilization. And spoiled and overfed in our mercantile and materialists countries, who have turned all the desires into needs to be satisfied by the markets. This way, the IISIL spread at the end of May of 2.014 the first edition of a weekly magazine in English, the «Islamic State Report» and a video in German, but subtitled in English. In this one, a western jihadist, praises Baghdadi, the leader of the ISSIL, announces as «good news … the return of the Sharia and the Islamic State» and openly asks their sympathizers to come, «and join the ranges» of the ISSIL. The Islamic State Report tries to give an idea of the increasing degree of institutionalization that is acquiring the Islamic State in his bases. The publication gathers an interview with the person in charge of the formation of the new clergymen of this territory, the sheikh Abu Hawraa al-Jazaairi. That indicates that they already have educated dozens of them in a new educational center and that they have prohibited the presence in the mosques of those that they do not study in it.

The «Islamic State Report» published months ago an ironic and sensationalist article: “ Patrolling with the Protection of the Consumer Office». And Abu Salih al-Ansari, in charge of the specialized unit in verifying that food is not sell in poor condition, or that do not adjust to the islamist directives of the ISSIL, warns that a telephone has been enabled to attend the public complaints… Constantly they give images in the social networks of the daily life in the caliphate and spread videos with hostages executions, as response to what they consider the aggressions of the Crusaders. Also, the IS calls his sympathizers in the world to perpetrate individual and isolated actions in the enemy rear. Immediately after the air offensive of the Coalition, they called to commit outrages against the citizens’ life of the countries that form part of her. It is calculated that in March of 2.015 already there are in Twitter more than 40 thousand operational accounts of jihadists, with propaganda and proselytizing eagerness.

The Assault to a Universal Civilization.

Already in the summer of 2.014, after Mosul seizure, the IS began to destroy the heretics temples of the Islam. And presented a video, announcer of the barbarism who would strike on all the territories that rules the Caliphate, titled: «The destruction of the unfaithful sanctuaries and statues in Nineveh (province)». Where without mercy appeared the blowing-up of the shiites and sufis mosques of the city. In all that, al-Baghdadi‘s jihadists emulate with more efficiency, insanity, extension and giving themselves up the blind mullah Omar‘s Taliban. That in 2.001 destroyed with dynamite, because their direct heavy fire was not effective for their technical dimness, both Buda’s giant statues, of 37 and 55 ms. height, in Bamiyan’s mountain, Afghanistan, which were Cultural Heritage of the Humanity.

THE BARBARIAN FLAG…

Following his wild run towards the human sewer, the al-Baghdadi’s bearded at the end of February tackled against the images, statues, bas-reliefs, busts and coins with effigies of the old Mesopotamic cultures. Mosul’s Archaeological Museum was going several years in restoration, to overcome the hurts suffered after the first War of the Gulf (with the repression of the Kurdish revolt) and the insurrection against the American occupation. In it were hoarded great collections of historical art, proceeding from 1.800 archaeological deposits that surround the city, where were standing out the remains obtained in the Assyrian cities of Nimrod and Nineveh. There were statues of the Assyrians kings, a collection of winged lions or bulls, bas-reliefs and friezes showing activities of the daily life, as hunting, and a great statue of Lammasu, his protective god, with body of lion or bull, wings of eagle and human head. In London already has been detected the arrival of a hundred of small pieces, ceramic, coins and crystals, plundered in Syria by the jihadists. Always will exist collectors capable of buying the stolen material, justifying themselves in that «if I do not buy it, another one will do».

But, all these objects were gathered, preserved and hoarded from the beginnings of the written History by the successive habitants of the «Great Mesopotamia» and the «Great Syria». That were turned to the Islam when the Muslims conquer the Sasanian Empire around the 644. Between these settlers are included the primitive Muslims, the pious ancestors of the Islam, the examples to be followed by the Islam of pro, rooted traditions and orthodoxy. That are the models who presume imitate and continue the salafists jihadists of all the epochs. And that form the «group of the ancestors», formed by the Prophet, his companions and the first 4 sunnis caliphs, known as the Rashidun or «straightly guided by Allah». How do they dare to try to destroy what They preserved? Armed with hammers and working maces and radial saws and dressed like messes, working with zeal, we all have seen the videos distributed by them, announcing their deeds and to frighten the foreign people, in the television newscasts.

The most affected places, placed in Mosul’s surroundings, were the ruins of the Assyrian city of Dur Sharrukin, Nineveh, Nimrod and Hatra, the capital of the Phartian kingdom between 247 and 226 B.C. This one was declared Heritage of the Humanity and is included from 2.010 in the list of cultural sites on the verge of extinction by the Fund of the World Heritage, due to the plunders and the lack of protection by the Iraqi government. Impotent, the Iraq government asked the Security Council of the UNO on Friday, the 6th of March, help to preserve all this historical heritage of the humanity, attacked with impunity by the IS. It is of worth indicate that Nimrod is half of way between Mosul, left also to driven to despair by the Kurdish Iraqi peshmergas, when the IS attacked her at the beginning of last June and Erbil, the capital of these. And never the “Kurdish warriors” tried to counter-attack the lightly escorted squads of wreckers of the IS. One sees also that the general James Terry and his American expedition for the formation of the new Iraq army, who came in November of 2.01, go with some delay in their missions. Oh, how easy the al-Baghdadi mujahidins are motivated, trained and fight!! Also, the Mosul’s Christian legacy was a goal, months ago, for Allah’s brainless. That attacked the Chaldean and Syrian orthodox cathedrals of Mosul, two fundamental symbols of the Assyrian Christian inheritance. And the ISSIL immediately replaced the crosses in the exterior of the temples by his black flags with the Shahada.

In parallel and without continuity solution, the hallucinated jihadists attacked also during February of 2.015 the Mosul’s libraries, the third city of Iraq (the second is Basra, with almost 4 million habitants) and the most important in the hands of the IS. For them, for books already have the Noble Koran. And other texts are creations of the human mind, alien to Allah. First, was plundered Mosul’s Central Library, where they extracted from the shelves between 2 thousand and 8 thousand books (according to the different reliable sources that inform us) and took them in a dozen of vehicles and opened light trucks. In the principal racks only Islamic texts stayed. After the theft, the jihadists demolished with explosives part of the principal building of this knowing temple, to condemn it for his activity and rendering useless it for this infidel use. Then, they assaulted the library of Mosul’s University, where burned hundreds of profane books (science, philosophy, literature), in front of his pupils summoned for that witches’ sabbath. Also were object of pillage other known libraries of the city, like that of the Latin Church or that of the Monastery of the Dominicans Friars, whose books also were withdrawn without been destroyed, in vehicles. The university texts were of common use and were handled, but other stolen writings are of major value and are destined for the marketing with international venal buyers. A person in charge of libraries in Mosul calculated that the losses and the thefts concerned more than 112 thousand books and manuscripts preserved in them.

Everybody wants to be in the «Islamic State».

Though without having the operational unity of the irregular forces of the ISSIL in the territories of Syria and Iraq, in other countries of the Muslim wasp’s nest of Southwest Asia and the Maghrib, spontaneous and emotional regional adhesions have arisen for the first sunni Caliphate of the third millennium. Lacking of military operational action unity, it is a question of some «ideological emotional bonds», arisen from the zeal to belong to something more than to a terrorist diffuse and profuse Network, with distant commands and without the feet in the Arabic immediate and desert land, as it is with al-Qaeda.

In Libya, almost irreversibly crushed between the hundreds of local, regional and semi nomadic tribes, spread for his 1.760 thousand Km2. of surface, exist 2 great enemy groups who were disputing the favor of the tribes and that were operationally stagnant. In Tobruk, in the Cirenaica, resides the Libyan government recognized by the community international and supported by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And in Tripoli, which occupied her in August of 2.014, the «rebel» government of the Libyan Dawn coalition, with high islamist presence, which denies again and again to have links with al-Qaeda, and that are supported by Qatar and Turkey. And this is the original humus, the favorable environment, the fertilized ground where once and again we see that appears and prospers the poisonous, stinking and purulent virus of the salafists jihadists: the social chaos and fracture.

This way, on Wednesday, the 18th of February, the IS local groups occupied the important city of Sirte, placed in the gulf of her name, between Tripoli and Benghazi, the capital of Cyrenaica. Sirte is also Muammar al-Gaddafi’s natal city, whose death 4 years ago initiated the decomposition and the total clash in the country. To celebrate it, the jihadists, which are not bombed here by the Obama’s Coalition of the 60, realized an impressive parade of victory and force. Hundreds of jihadists and sympathizers realized a power exhibition in the streets of the city, where paraded the «battalions» of their irregular infantry and dozens of light armored gunned transport vehicles (type, light opened van) with mujahidins, that were accompanied and greeted with cheers and acclamations by the habitants during their tour for the city. The government in Tobruk did not react to these facts and the «rebel» limited himself to make advance towards Sirte, without other intentions, the Misrata’s «brigade», placed at Sirte’s northwest. This way, the Islamic State in Libyan version has managed to hoist his black flag in Sirte, in Derna, a fishermen town with 50 thousand habitants of the Cyrenaica, where his tribal militias already swore loyalty to al-Baghdadi, and in other minor enclaves of this country, where it began to appear in force.

In Nigeria, the Boko Haram’s fighting chiefs are usually the familiar or tribal chiefs, their local leaders. They attack forming a «swarm» of small units that act simultaneously or successively, coordinated by a «combat chief». This primitive, tribal, «free» character, does that among the regional chiefs exist rivalries, which prevent a vertical integration of the terrorists. His tactics and methods are: all kinds of ambushes; the harassment at certain distance of marching units and garrisons; the liquidation of sentries and small patrols; the harassment to the supply and communication lines of the military and the local self-defense forces; the sudden attacks against small garrisons; the capture of hostages of all classes with varied aims: to execute them, to sell them, to incorporate them into his ranges, to obtain the price of rescue; the execution or mutilation of the enemies or elements that hinder them: journalists, collaborators of foreign organizations, local authorities, religious. They take advantage to the maximum of his knowledge of the ground, of his high mobility, of the people support and of his natural fighting capacit. These bands always plan their retreat from the action zones, because, though they are fanatical and does not matter too much for them to die, it is not in their goals to be immolated deliberately for the Cause.

THE NIGERIA’S CRAZY MAHDI.

Shekau, called the black Ben Laden, is a controversial type at the eyes of the westerns, included his own name, Abu Baker Shekau, because their followers called him Darul Tawhid. He was born approximately 40 years ago in the wide zone between the south of Niger and the North-East of Nigeria. His formation is not known, but he knows the Koran and speaks the tribal languages of the zone (kanuri, fula, hausa and Arab) where the terrorist band operates. He fluently uses the means of the propaganda and the fear. He repeats Ben Laden’s theatrical bits (to raise the finger as a sign of threat towards the cameras, to his lookers) and mounts an equal staging (black flags, Kalashnikovs and Korans) in his appearances to the enemy means. One of a major declarations he did, was in a video taken after killing 180 persons in 2012: «I enjoy killing anyone that God orders me to kill, the same I enjoy killing hens and sheep». It is said that he is solitary, introspective and cruel. And is distrustful up to with his own men. He lives protected by a close loyal group, in the style of Ben Laden, and remains away from the majority of the group. Always, in these more or less chased principal commands, is inevitably developed the paranoia, which ends up by altering their cognitive and emotional functions. One of four wives of Mohamed Yusuf, executed in a police station in 2.009, which was his predecessor and the founder of Boko Haram, has returned to marry Shekau, according to the Nigerian intelligence. Nobody knows who finances him. Not only he is a mystery for West, but for many of his sectarian companions. He was given for dead in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2.014, but the information was incorrect. He has a bullet wound, already recovered, in the leg. Now, he only goes out to outside the cloudy days, to prevent to be located by the drones or the spy satellites. The USA offers $7 million for the relevant information that leads to capture him.

In a qualitative jump in his terrorist activities, Boko Haram kidnapped in the middle of April 2.014 270 Nigerian girls in a Chibok’s school, at the northeast of Nigeria, which whereabouts are still unknown. These fanatic rebels are called themselves «the disciples of the Prophet for the spread of the Islam and the Jihad», that express «Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad”. «Boko Haram is a serious threat for Africa and for Europe. His will is to destabilize the north of Nigeria, the neighboring countries and the whole region», declared François Hollande in the high-level meeting celebrated in Paris on Saturday, the 17th of May of 2.014, on occasion of the terrorist escalation. «Boko Haram already is not a local group, but he is clearly operating as an arm of al-Qaeda in the center of Africa. Without the help of all the countries of the African west, we will never be able to win him», declared, in turn, the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan. The Nigerian government possesses 20 thousand soldiers, planes and intelligence units deployed in the North-East of the country, where Boko Haram is more active. But, «these troops are not prepared to face an armed group with these characteristics», Indicated the British secretary of Foreign Affairs, William Hague. Nigeria and his neighbors Cameroun, Chad and Niger realize «coordinated patrols» to look for missing persons and hostages and to control the traffic of weapon, in the frame of the Commission of the Lake Chad’s Basin.

Three devices exploded in Maiduguri, at the North-East of Nigeria, on Saturday, the 7th of March of 2.015. It was the worst assault to the city realized by militants of Boko Haram, which try to occupy the population from ends of January. It is confirmed that approximately 58 dead and 139 injured have taken place in the explosions that shocked the city. So cruel like al-Baghdadi, but more histrionic and higher stoned than him, Abu Baker Shekau has seized this opportunity and the consequent merits, for declared himself a subject of the Islamic State on Sunday, the 8th of March. “Baya” to the caliph of the Muslims, proclaimed Shekau in an Arab recording. The “baya” is the loyalty oath and submission to a religious politic Islamic authority. And several islamic, but minor groups, of the whole world have given already his oath of loyalty to the caliph of the IS.

WHITHOUT COMMENTS FROM ISLAM’S PIOUS ULEMAS AND MUFTIS…

INSANITY ATTACK TO A KNOWING TEMPLE, UNIVERSITY OF GARISSA, KENYA TO KILL CHRISTIANS…

(TO BE CONTINUED)

THE FIGHTING AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAK AND SYRIA IV.

(FINAL)

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, nevertheless, has created his bases, from the beginning of his existence, next to his enemies and accessible to them. And they have not been attacked in force and disturbed by the shameful military disabilities of their regional enemies. And al-Baghdadi knew this and he has very well valued it, on having decided to create them this way, with a fine leader «command correct sense» and of the state strategy. Colonel C. M. Woodhouse established that «the art of defeating the guerrillas is the art of getting the people in opposition to them». And in the desert lands of the Islamic State is not necessary to establish how this can be achieved. Already al-Baghdadi is in charge of it, with a zeal worthy of better cause, to make enemies to the death with all that are not of his group or of his pleasure. So now, only motivated, trained and equipped men are absent to do a laborious, but not difficult mission… Already we have seen it. Will they be found by the Iraqis, the Syrians and the air Coalition of 60 countries?

Exemplary and Triumphant Counterguerrilla Campaigns.

In 1.948 the communist Greek guerrilla, in full world postwar period, were on the verge of forming forces semiregulars to openly attack the government. They also wanted to extend the “Steel Curtain” to the South-East of Europe. Their military, not decisive and badly interpreted successes, according to the correlation of forces and the strategic opportunity of the revolutionary communist process, decided them to already face the National Greek Army and to beat it. As did Mao, at the right moment of the Chinese civil war. This way, the Democratic Army of Greece (the DSE or Dimokratikos Stratos Ellados) congregated great part of his guerrilla detachments, which were spreading as a rosary from north to south over Greece, from the Peloponnese up to Macedonia, in the East, to form «regular» units, to which they called «brigades» and «divisions». But this «regular» rebel force, with 12-15 thousand militants, was only the tenth part of the Greek army. Their permanent or temporal bases were allowing them to realize sudden attacks, assaults and ambushes against the governmental authorities, policemen and military men. But, far from them, the bands were lacking sufficient supplies and popular supports for their operations. On the other hand, the guerrilla principal bases, placed in the zone of Vitsi and Grammos, at the northwest of the country, near the border with Yugoslavia, were vital for the revolutionaries for the receipt of the logistic support from this country.

COMMANDERS POSE AFTER AN ENCOUNTER IN MOUNTAIN GREECE…

A Greek Army patrol sweeping in search of Communist guerrillas.

But they were constituting some orthodox, tangible and attainable targets for the heavy fire and the military force at the disposal of Greece. For this time, the break of Titus with Stalin and the Komintern was total and irreversible. And Titus already was not interested in promoting in the neighboring country a revolution that would derive towards “not revisionist positions”. The principal Yugoslavian faucet was closed and immediately afterwards Albania and Bulgaria also stopped their minor helps. Presented this way the clash, in a month of orthodox operations of march, assault, siege and annihilation, the Greek forces advised and supported by the British and with the military help of American material, occupied the mountainous zone of those guerrilla essential bases, in August of 1.949. That constituted a conventional, hard and definite aim, which had to be defended by the Popular Red «army». With it the Greek democrats stemmed definitively a communist insurrection of «national liberation», which was extending, insoluble and menacing, to a civil war from 1.945.

At the end of World War II, the British awarded Chin Peng the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his heroics in leading guerrillas against the Japanese. He became the leader of the Communist Party of Malaya.

The first attempts of the Malay guerrillas to create bases and establish in them the communist administration were in 1.945. The irregulars of the so called Army of the Malay People went out of the refuge of the jungles, where they were hiding of the Imperial Japanese Army. In 1.948 they initiated the military revolt against the British, establishing in isolated communities of Chinese colonists, seated in Malaya. The communists were expecting to attract to their cause the workers of the mines, plantations and estates and extending this way their bases. But their political propaganda was not tuned with the people in general. And, specially, with the not Chinese community, which was the great majority of the Malays. The general Henry Briggs took advantage of their weaknesses and attacked the lines of supply, preventing them from creating big detachments and forcing them to be dispersed. Briggs was possessing battalions of Gurkhas, of Malays, of British and of Chinese and soon realized that these units were too much heavy to operate against the bands. And with a part of them he formed platoons and companies of “guerrillas hunters”. That were penetrating in the surrounding jungles, were living on the ground, were gathering information of all kinds and were scourging, ambushing and attacking to the communist groups.

GENERAL BRIGGS

GENERAL TEMPLER

And his successor, the general Gerald Templer systematicly attacked them, and they already could not consolidated in any place. This way, the Chinese Malay communists never overcame the primitive stage of stray persecuted guerrillas and only could use the isolated assaults as principal tactics. The tenacity and the patience of the British, who did not propose to prevent them from creating directly bases, but to methodically destroy them, rooted out the guerrillas of the inhabited zones and thrown them again to the jungle and, finally, to the surrender. The following pacification of the infected zones by the communist bands, realized with firmness and consideration, with a strong fist sheathed in a velvet glove, consolidated the support of their habitants to the Greek government. The revolt was definitively suffocated in 1.955. The local communists wanted to imitate Mao and to fight an irregular protracted war. But they lacked two strategic means for get it: enough popular support and stable bases.

THE END.

The Western Defense and the Great Strategy of his Nations

Since more than two decades, the USA has been systematically reducing his Defense budgets. Free of the threat of a global confrontation with the USSR and his allies of the Warsaw Pact, the USA has dedicated growing quantities of the contributors money to increase their squalid «social public expenditures». But, the USA is something more than a «continent in their self», only subject to the mercantile globalization. They are the principal pillar of the West Defense. And they are one of his two poles or vital, active, ideological and complementary nodes. And the other are Western and Oriental Europe, joined now with their anxieties of freedom and by a several social and economic systems, that are imperfect, but assumed and in development.

Development of the situation of weakness.

During the application of the Marshall Plan (known there as the European Recovery Program, name toked from the general of five stars George Marshall, chief of the High Staff of the US Army during the World War II and Secretary of State in 1947) for the reconstruction and development of Western Europa, this was nourished with the American assistances and investments. And before his voracious Red enemy «ad portam», that might cross theoretically the German plains in a few hours and reach Hamburg and the Benelux, the western Europeans did not have to realize relevant expenses for their Defense. Europe was entrusting it to the weapon systems and the soldiers of the USA. Which were covering and threatening the whole low abdomen of the Red Czars Empire. Forming so placed a protective insulating cordon, from the North Atlantic up to the Pacific Ocean and creating strategic alliances from the NATO to the SEATO (or South East Asia Treaty Organization). If we want to estimate how much money and effort the Europeans saved themselves, been able to do without these inevitable expenses of pure survival, we can see an example. The overwhelming weight of the military expenses that supported the USSR in his last ten years, was the necessary reason, though not sufficient, of their social economic asphyxiation. That took them to the inevitable precipice in 1989. A second range Soviet leader accepted later that, «we even did not have anything to eat».

But Europe also was contributing an ideological counterpoint, a psychological balance and a socio cultural magma to this transversal «mutual exchange» in the West. That were giving to the USA, continuity, sense and belonging to a tradition and to an active, enterprising, expansive, Christian and millenarian idiosyncrasy. That were taken root in the Greeks, the Romans, the Christian Revelation and the identities and baggages of the peoples westernized successively. This helps to constantly create and adapt the collective identity of the USA and his raison d’être as «primus inter pares» of this actual civilization. And this «double osmosis» of thoughts, experiences and identities, creates the modern western society, as we know her. That, with all his failures, mistakes and faults, continues being the «social identity and entity» more anticipated social, political and economically. And the one that more individual and collective rights recognizes to her citizens and inhabitants.

Now the purple and the control in West weighs to the USA. And, in the retreating phase of one of their vital cycles, they have partly forgotten their belonging to the Western Civilization » dependent of the international commerce». But this multi polar world is not safer than that of the two antagonistic irreconcilable, liberal and communist, social blocks, which disappeared almost 15 years ago. Let’s see several examples of prominent «nodes» in the actual «multi polar network» of nations and their associations and alliances. An expansionist China governed by the Communist Party, who looks for regional alliances, for the moment only with commercial interests towards the scanty and strategic materials, with the emergent countries of all the continents. And that tries to create her «sphere of influence and co prosperity» of great metropolis in the western Pacific Ocean. A full of contradictions Russia, a great power that always has reacted and has grown bolder with the dangers and vital difficulties, with an increasing importance and ambition. The South American and African continents, in that almost only the lack of leaders and effective elites, which are the principal antidote against the corruption and the lack of stable investments, hinder and stop an exuberant and endured economic and social expansion during decades. A Middle East and a north of Africa in full social boiling, that are guided by an expansive, global and exclusive religion in her more vindicator interpretations. More than for a few democratic «green buds», which do not have any tradition in their social idiosyncrasies.

A stationary and bureaucratized Europe, very advanced technologically and developed. But that is ideologically lethargic and without «reasonable illusions». That motivate and stimulate it to the social phase of motivation and expansion of a new cycle. And without having attacked to his time, still, the most difficult integration of his supranational institutions. To that there are opposed passively all the national and European bureaucracies, for his own inert existential weight, and in reason to the structural present and future complications and to the zones of power in game. That motivate and stimulate it to the phase of socials motivation and expansion in a new vital cycle. And without having undertook in time, still, the most difficult integration of her supranational institutions. To which are passively opposed all the national and European bureaucracies, by their own inert existential weight. And in reason to the structural present and future complications and to the zones of power in game. Because only when the belonging to a social superior entity produces social, political and economic tangible benefits, will be when the peoples, regions and many of their leaders appreciate, be interested and prefer the Joined Europe, to a commercialized and amorphous union of European nations.

Correction of the course of the Western Defense towards an expansion phase .

The USA and the countries of the old Europe must remember that the expansion and yet the maintenance of the civilizations begin with the arrival of the colonists, merchants and adventurers. That assume the first risks in interacting with local natives and create the first bonds between strangers. In order that all they start feeling interestedly complementary between them. And without nobody perceives between them a potential threat. That the falling back civilizations or yet «stable and crystallized», create an existential emptiness. That attracts and favors the penetration, deployment and new developments in the neighboring civilizations.

And that no healthy civilization cannot be supported without a sufficient Armed Forces. That must assume and face the different and yet contradictory challenges of the three classes of conflicts or modern wars: the regular, the nuclear and the irregular. In the European intervention in Libya, authorized only for the air protection of the civilians, was observed that the Europeans lack, for example, of airplanes of supply of fuel in flight. And these had to be facilitated by the USA, to carry out our air interdiction missions and of bombing the reinforced positions and the tanks of Libyan government. And the ground attacking French aviation to support the operations of the French and of Mali troops has also needed the airplanes of supply in flight of the USA. To be able to increase her attack to land capacities, in firepower, effective range and time of service and optimize his offensive flights. And to displace from Azawad’s Islamic Republic, in the north of Mali and with a surface of 600 thousand Km2. (The major European country, France, only has 550 thousand Km2.), all the radical islamist groups (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrib, Ansar al-Dine and others), that established themselves in Mali at the beginning of 2012, when Gaddafi was eliminated. The significant European lacks are not corrected in reasonable time due to the national diminishing budgets, which we have to apply in an economic long stagnation phase. But, also, due to the own absence of an European sufficient, integrated and flexible Defense Politic.

Nevertheless, in May, 2012 a summit conference of NATO took place in Chicago, to define his joint strategy for Afghanistan and to deep into the «Smart Defense». And, on the occasion of its preparations, at the end of April, 2012, the General Secretary of the NATO, the Danish Anders Fogh Basmussen declared that: «I do not believe that Europe is being militarily threatened just now, during this crisis». Is it necessary to see the wolf’s ears to buy and to provide the shepherds with dogs and cudgels? How much time is necessary in creating new units in combat capacity and in designing, making and deploying new weapon systems?

(TO BE CONTINUED)

The Taliban’ Military Operations in Afghanistan II.

(CONTINUATION)

or The Expert Taliban Military Field Manual

The suicidal Taliban.

The suicidal fighter is a common weapon of the Taliban. The suicidal militant is for the Taliban a cheap, abundant, effective and highly asymmetric weapon. If the explosive charge, its characteristics and the vector are the suitable ones: the sophisticated enemy sensors and the protective jackets use as little against her. Nor the armored vehicles and the buildings serve to be protected from her. The trigger carrying agent can be man or woman and adult or child. It can cooperate in his suicide attack a bushes, a goods selling street place, a donkey, a bicycle or an engine vehicle. A suicidal fighter of one alone use is not a select shooter: it is not necessary to form him militarily (basic, technical and tactical knowledge). Complementary to the explosive belt or jacket, his other fearsome weapons are the surprise, the freedom of action and the initiative.

The suicidal soldier must go unnoticed in the place chosen for the attack: by his age, genre, aspect, movements and attitude. To be able to approach his target and make exploit the load, producing the major possible number of enemies dead and mutilated. The added human and physical hurts that are caused around the explosion point are only «collateral damages”. To calm the repugnances in producing them, an Al-Qaeda «ideologist», Abu Yahya al-Libi, developed a «religious» theory about the not looked for hurts. According to her, it is allowed to the Yihad’s militants to kill Muslims, when it is inevitable. Even, when it is useful to the cause. So, the suicidal soldiers express their desire that the not looked for dead, should be considered also by Allah as martyrs of His «Holy War».

The suicidal Taliban is an essentially inhuman weapon. We do not know any case in which it has used in only destroying a military physical target: a bridge, a store. Sometimes the suicide is used as part of a command, for blow opening the entry to a complex or for promoting with his immolation the surprise of the enemy and attracting his attention. Here the suicide’s «merit», who already must has certain instruction, is that of the whole assailant group in his action.

The motivations of these «sworn-in» are simple. Not to be able to chronically cover his basic natural needs of: sustenance, family, security, refuge and cover, and the reasonable progress expectations is a spur for his enrollment. The economic prizes that the Taliban give to the «martyrs» families are covering this line. The religious motivation is the powerful way of conviction. The suicides of the Yihad are methodically and intensely catechized. And live in an involving «environment» where they get clarify his doubts and that breathe them to prematurely reach the Paradise. The universal character of the Umma or Muslims’ community, facilitates the flow and the insertion of suicidal soldiers from other countries. In the last years, the followers of the Sunna are those who are using the suicide in his «Holy War». They are used by al-Qaeda, the Taliban of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the members of Hamas.

The Military Contradictions in Afghanistan.

The foreign military men are tied by their own contradictions. On one hand, for socially correct or electoral reasons, is avoided to define this conflict, not already as a war, but as what it is: an “irregular Islamic popular liberation war”. That is directed against «a corrupt, impious and unpopular government, puppet of the exterior Allied powers». This way, the Allied armies establish strict “clashing procedures”, which they say that are to protect the Afghan people. But in all when they meet threatened or want to undertake some advances in the Taliban “loose controlled territory”, they only firstly and principally trust in their devastating and/or indiscriminate heavy fire capacity.

The Americans and their allies do not have a permanent and indefinite commitment, the hallmark of the good ally, with the Afghan political regime. That is an incoherent puzzle of tribal and personal interests. Agglutinated by the social and political power that today they hold, use and distribute. Neither is possible to «impregnate» in its entirety and per se, an inorganic western democracy in a Moslem’s country with an ancient, enduring and little evolved social structure. Without liberal principles and forms in her idiosyncrasy, the Afghan leaders and sheiks will use the new political power mechanisms to increase their influence and benefit, in a supposedly modern and free, but inarticulate society. An Islamic democracy, in use and customs guided by the Islam and the Sunna, is not equal to a liberal democracy.

Also exists a complete lack of nearness and commitment with the Afghan people. That perceives the «unfaithful armed foreigners» in his territory, as something temporary, relative, foreign and superposed to his interests and the personal, familiar, tribal, cultural and religious needs, in this order. Only some British managed to be accepted, respected and estimated, in a personal title, by the pashtunes and baluchis. It was the epoch of the British Empire of India and the famous Northwest Border (the Durand Line and the Tribal zones) with Afghanistan. It was a historical distant stage, with events that were going up with a minor pace that nowadays. Where the overseas «service shifts» (» military tours of duty”) lasted several years.

At beginning the summer of 2010, a powerful offensive of the ISAF took place in the province of Kandahar, at east of Helmand, to defeat and remove the Afghan Taliban of their habitual and original social support base. There were used ground and air multinational forces, as in Marjah’s battle in February, and selective commands assaults type «bites and flees». Nevertheless, the offensive was paralyzed without achieving her goals and it is not known of her resumption. Marjah was an important culture and processed center of the opium in Helmand’s province. After the battle and occupation, there was try to establish a local government, dependent on Kabul, which sank immediately and came to nothing. Soon there started appearing in other nearby populations the «green buds» of the Taliban. Who advanced without been disturbed after the military ebb tide.

The operational strategy of the ISAF is unsuccessful. The results of his military actions or are lean or lack continuity and go away vanishing. As would say an illuminated defeated politician: «they only belong to the wind». And precisely, because the Afghan «authorities» would have to consolidate, develop and keep those successes. Here it is easier to militarily win than occupy. And to temporarily occupy is easier that to convince and appease. And to assure and develop a civil native zone got from the Taliban.

The Latest British Misfortunes in Afghanistan II.

On how a passive defense is inoperative and shameful in the counter insurgency war!!

(continuation)

The Taliban assault at Friday, 14, September, 2012 against Camp Bastion.

The British base has been attacked in diverse occasions during his years of existence. The most “media” occasion has been this that we treat. In the assault were dead two Marines (of the attached Camp Leatherneck). And other nine persons – eight military men and a civil contractor – were hurt. 6 airplanes McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II of the Marines Corps were destroyed and other two were very damaged. As for the logistic facilities, were destroyed three stations of fuels supply and damaged 6 hangars of aviation not structurally reinforced.

The effective defense of the military barracks, redoubts and camps against the assault and the harassment of irregular armed rebels is founded on three operational qualities: the initiative, the mobility and the offensive action. These, in turn, are directly determined by the mentality and the combative disposition of the military men (which depend fundamentally on them) and by the military available means in the operations zone (that depend fundamentally on the politicians and the public managers). The gravity center of the active defense of the military fixed positions resides in the observation and the control of the approximation routes. That in rural zone can be a semi flooded rice field; in mountainous area, a heights line a little below the military crest; in urban zone, the streets orientated towards them, from certain distance, and in a road, a verge. All this compounded by the climate and the day hour. The observation and fighting military positions can consist from the couple of snipers up to a reinforced platoon, according to the characteristics of the area and the intentions and capacities of the enemy. Those are apart of the perimeter defense and of the patrols who cross it randomly, that constitute a part of the camp static defense. The enemy is in the habit of exploring, at least initially and also in fluid fighting conditions, by observation. It is important to locate and eliminate these reconnaissance positions. The patient observation is the way. Bearing in mind that if the exigency is intense, every 30 minutes the observer must be replaced, because he looks, but already not sees. If additional means exist for it and as complement, it is necessary to use the energetic patrolling against the enemy, moving away the Complex much more, using armed reconnaissances and attacks with limited aims.

A passive defense, limited to rejecting the assaults, with the initiative and the election of the moments in hands of the enemy, is almost the most solvent of the combat morale that can experience a force, leaving apart a defeat. Ask about it to the Frenchmen who were defending multitude of redoubts and positions in Indochina before Dien Bien Fu in 1954 and to the nationalistic Chinese until 1949.

The operational offensive key is the energetic, constant, unpredictable patrolling, eager for the combat with the insurgents or of obtaining information. That constitute a more professional, more active and more lethal «swarm» than the insurgents bands. Integrated by units not usually bigger than a platoon. Whose weapons are the seal, the discretion, the mobility, with the night as collaborator and refuge. The initiative, demonstrated in the irregular war in multitude of small actions, is always habitual and consistently of the winning final side. It is not acceptable to allow that the enemy takes her, uses her or retains her. The initiative is joined to the creative imagination, framed and illuminated by the professional knowledge and the field experience . Together, reinforcing an enterprising character, they can be military decisive and efficient here

The Taliban usual procedure to assault a weak defended or without spirit position enemy is this: at dawn they bombard with the fixed rocket launchers heavy fire, then they approach to use mortars, finally, the assault it is realized by several independent squads, that converging advance shooting AK and RPD or PK machine gun bursts and their RPG and RL hollow charge grenade-launchers. They only fire on verified targets or from above and from below. When they try to keep the surprise, the initiative and the confusion, to lengthen the military reaction time and to obtain a very local and temporary superiority, they act without their meager heavy fire support. A typical characteristic of the Taliban is that they do not get involved in the defense of their positions. Once obtained the harassment of the enemy and extended the hurt, the mutilation and the stupor on the military men, they will move back. They are not so silly to wait intrepid for the heavy, precise and devastate military fire. Nor to presume of courage, in front of enemies with weapons of superior range and characteristics and capable of turning a surface target into a destruction zone. Also there are the time and its corollary, the opportunity. The Taliban handle very well the tactical and operational times. They are masters of the patience, the waiting, the repetition of trainings, simple and easy. For the important attacks they manage to use scale models of the goal. And, to penetrate in a base and attack the heavy and evident war aircrafts, only need to represent part of the perimeter, the directional location of the target and its identification, as well as the rejection fighting positions of the irruption point.

None of the laws of the war defined in the Geneva and The Hague conventions favor the Taliban fighting. The condition of right belligerent is granted by the fulfillment of them. For it, the bands should go uniformed, exhibiting the weapons, commanded by a chief and acting in name of a state that was retaining the sovereignty of, at least, a part of his territory. In the other cases, the national legislations are applied. They are specially hard in the cases of armed sedition. And qualifying of assassins, terrorists or bandits without entrails, to the rebels. Though, it is true that, in general, is suitable to smooth the “manual” treatment given to the partisans, to not irritate the positions and to no re-grow the excesses and the losses.

Enough hours before 12 pm of Thursday, the 13th of September, the Taliban forces began to approach from several directions to the air zone of the Complex. To keep a low tactical trace, they followed dragging techniques in their advance to the security zone of the area. And up to there got, without being detected, 45 to 50 insurgents that, in three convergent spears of advance attacked by midnight, supported by their squad organic weapons. Not to being detected up to the beginning of the assault, also helped them the scanty combative availability of the men. And the tedious and unproductive routine of the guards and patrols, which creates the passive defense of a great protective barrack. Approximately 15 Taliban from two of the groups, managed to get through Camp Bastion’s perimeter and to attack effectively the air zone. Finally the attacking group was wiped out (dead and injured men and prisoners).

It was a «significant» assault, the British Defense Department declared, as the insurgents should never have come so far away. It was, admitted the ISAF, a «good coordinated» attack. Organized in three assault groups, the Taliban managed to get through the defense perimeter of the base. «They were well equipped and trained, dressing USA Army uniforms and armed with automatic rifles, grenade-launcher and explosive jackets», continued the ISAF in his communique. This mission assured that during the assault, the international troops killed 14 insurgents and hurt other one, who is arrested.

The British correspondents in Afghanistan assured that Camp Bastion has an excellent visibility from all parts and is extremely strengthened. The defense correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, who has been for more than twelve times in Camp Bastion, wrote on Sunday, the 14th: «In spite of being in the center of the most dangerous province of Afghanistan, I always felt completely sure, undoubtedly, of an assault of the Taliban. And honestly I believed that there were more possibilities of dying knocked down by a military vehicle that murdered by insurgents». The forces of the coalition, make clear the correspondents, ask themselves how the Taliban were capable of giving this surprise attack a strengthened and isolated complex barrack. And a spokesperson, Adam Wojack, said that the Friday assault «was a sign for the coalition that it is necessary to give many attention to the popular, local and international state of mind about Afghanistan».

On Monday, the 10th of September Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman insurgent, declared to Reuters that the Taliban were trying to use all his resources to kill the prince Henry (also called «Harry the Nude»), third in the succession line to the British throne. After the facts, another Taliban spokesman underlined that they attacked in «revenge» for the American amateur movie which offends Mohammed. And that they choose to commit an attack against Camp Bastion, because the prince Harry was there, acting as co-pilot gunner in the Joint Air Group.

The Latest British Misfortunes in Afghanistan

On how a passive defense is inoperative and shameful in the counter insurgency war!!

Let’s see the «vital path» of the British in the current conflict. Of the “warlike fervor” of these «European technologically modern soldiers», give faith the operations carried out for years in Helmand province. After the war of 2001, which ended with the medieval theocratic radical intransigent regime of the Taliban, close to Lashkar Gal city, Helmand’s capital, up to 8 thousand British soldiers established themselves. That were successively relieved by their replacements in «tours of duty». This powerful contingent of professional experienced soldiers was unable in almost 7 years to fight, replacing the culture of opium in Helmand and appeasing the province, for the effective implantation in her of the Government of Kabul. To solve this operational Gordian knot of the ISAF, cutting it with a slit, it was decided…

The last great Offensive against the Taliban in Helmand: Marjah’s battle.

The “Operation Moshtarak” («Together», in dari, one of the afghan languages) began at Friday, February 12, 2010. For the operation approximately 15 thousand allied soldiers have met, from the ISAF and Afghanis. The USA contingent had around 4 thousand marines and 800 soldiers from the US Army. The Afghans were 2 thousand men and they accompanied the Americans in the attacks and occupations. The British were 4 thousand men and there were groups from Canada, Denmark and Estonia.

There were several operational aims in the “Operation Together”. The first was to aim a rapid and forceful blow to the Taliban, going forward to their usual spring operations. And showing them who have taken now the initiative. And as corollary, to try again to appeasing Helmand, for the effective and final implantation of the Government of Kabul in it. In the strategy of counterinsurgency is sought to clean the zone of the Taliban and to protect the inhabitants of their influence. It is supposed that the transcendence of the operations success will be indefinite. As the Government cannot request the loyalty of the people, if this is not defended effectively and permanently of the reprisals of the Taliban.

Also, it was the goal of eradicating the drug production in Marjah’s district. According with the UNO Agency for the Fighting against the Drug and the Organized Crime, 42% of the world opium is produced in Helmand’s province. And Marjah is one of the principal centers of the culture of the poppy and its chemical processing. The British were previously in charge of attacking its culture in the zone. But their efforts, up to the last summer, were insufficient and ineffective to achieve these two principal aims. In spite of the presence, at 40 Km from Marjah’s ville, of more than eight thousand British soldiers.

Another operational aim was giving field to the soldiers of the Afghan Army. Increasing their auto esteem and their military experience, trying his operational and organizational capacities and confirming his loyalties with the Government. Finally, it was wished that Marjah would be a «testing and checking center» for the different skills and techniques of pacification and civil development, of immediate and future application in the rest of the country. In a war against “national armed rebels”, these civil operations are the “other arm», complementary and necessary, of the successfully military actions over they.

The battle was carried out more in advancing and bombarding or shelling the suspicious positions. The allied troops were occupying and consolidating the successful advances. The external siege and the control of the possible escape routes of the guerrillas were in charge of the British and the auxiliary forces of Canada, Denmark and Estonia. That also defended the allied road links. The operation was completed in a month.

The Taliban, a light irregular infantry, without artillery or aviation, with a pedestrian and insufficient logistics, were beaten and removed from their combat positions in Marjah, dispersing finally, largely to the bordering provinces. And Marjah remained occupied by the Marines and the forces of the Afghan Army. A whole labor staid ahead now to earn the respect, the confidence and the loyalty of the villagers. And that they begin to accept the central Afghan government. Also it is necessary to offer them a future of peace, safety and prosperity. Replacing their current means of life, based on the opium poppy culture and the drug transport, by others that turn out to be reasonably profitable. And that do not move them simply to a subsistence agriculture without hope. Marines are excellent elite action forces. But in the vulgar and patient tasks of occupation and civilization of a more or less hostile and strange territory, they are mediocre, distant with people and no motivated.

In the province of Kandahar, the fief of the mulah Omar and the first national quarry of the Taliban, there were then almost 3000 Canadian troops, with the American and British forces. It was one of the first fighting «fronts» against the insurgency in the country, together with Helmand and the frontier Eastern provinces. As continuation of the cleaning in Marjah and at “load snort” of its military success, the allies decided to launch during the spring and the summer of 2010, the «Operation Kandahar», with almost the same operational aims that the first one. It was trying to make an intensive use of the operations of search and destruction of the enemy, to divide and disperse him. That would go at charge the elite units of of the armies, forming patrols of exploration, of combat and mixed, backed by Afghan soldiers and using the tactical aviation and artillery supports and the exploratory and precise fire capacities of the «drones». It was talked about the Battle of Kandahar. But, within a few weeks of initiated, his momentum was languishing. And losing initiative, creativity, will and applied force. And it was stopped speaking about her. In this epoch, the journalists detached in military units and populations in Afghanistan warned us that the «green outbreaks» of the insurgency were appearing, as vigorous and firm renews, within Marjah and Nad Ali…

In Afghanistan are present military forces from approximately 46 countries. Some of them are dedicated to support, garrison and rear tasks. As being a great coalition, without subordinating to it any of the interests that to each country dictate his needs and his political commitments, the coincidences between the allies are partial, have continuity solutions and are unstable through time. This intrinsic fragility of the coalition, is born in that almost all the allies do not practice State policies, but temporal or, worst enough, electoral. It is necessary to indicate that this owes largely to that there is not a clear perception of the Afghan problem. Not of his direct or indirect, immediate or distant nearness, to the national respective defense interests.

The great British military Complex Bastion in Helmand’s province.

Helmand is one of 32 provinces of Afghanistan. It spreads over 58.583 km ² at the southwest of the country and has a population around the million and half of inhabitants, of the pashtun and baluchi ethnias. The capital is Laskar Gah. In his Washer’s district, at the northwest of the capital, the Camp Bastion is installed. It is the principal military British base in Afghanistan. It can house between 20 and 30 thousand persons in all its facilities, British and American principally, depending on the Branch to which they belong and their missions, equipments and supplies. It occupies a total extension of 52 Km2, approximately 10 km per 5 km. It was designed to be the center of the logistic operations of the ISAF in Helmand. In addition, it is the major military British camp constructed outside their country after the II World War. Built by the British Engineers since the beginning of 2006, the Complex is placed in a desert zone and away from the populations and provided with long clear sights in all dirThe Latest British Misfortunes in Afghanistanections.

The Camp is divided structurally in different «sections». Bastion 1 and 2 are first erected. Bastion 2 contains also the Camp Barber (USA) and the Camp Viking (Danish). Bastion 0 was added about 2010 and it houses the facilities of the external contractors. The Bastion 3 is used for the specific training of counterinsurgency. The Complex also includes Camp Leatherneck (of the USMC) and Camp Shorabak, of the National Afghan Army. Camp Bastion’s airport, which possesses two landing strips, attends approximately 600 aircraft flights every day, in operations of combat, logistic and medicals. In the attached heliport are deployed the Westland WAH-6 Apache of multiple attack and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook of mixed transport. In these moments the Complex can handle and attend almost all the military and civil aircraft in use. The Complex also houses a great military campaign hospital. And large areas of this great base are protected by a nine meters high concrete wall, which spreads over a perimeter of more of 40km, inserted with special vigilance towers, with soldiers and high technology instruments.

(to be continued)

THE BEGINNING OF A CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA II.

(continuing)

About the «Muslim Brothers» (MB) as political modern «organization» there is profusion of available information, which is constantly updated. But the MB are different from a «political association», according with our Western use and understanding. Their function is eminently social in a wide and deep sense. Like is the Islam as religion. That is based on five props represented by a «opened hand». The jihad is added to those, as a collective blood effort in Al-lâh’s path, for the defense and extension of the lands of Dar-al-Islam. The Islam expresses by sacred actions (rites), necessary to be imbued and blooms in the personal and collective soul of the believers. And these «acts and ritual actions», from the Salat (his daily prayers, which re-join the whole present group), passing for the Roza or fasting in the Ramadan month and the Hajj or multitudinous peregrination to the Mecca, to the Zakat or charity (expressed as canonical alms for the Umma, administered by the ulemas, imams or sheiks). They are collective and highly composing the local or regional Muslim community. The MB are like a legal «confraternity», with the due distances, of the Islam. And with the Zakat they support services of social attention of all kinds (schools and madrasas, clinics, hospitals, help to persons and families). These forge the community in a «unit of general action» effective and resistant. That is of very difficult repetition or reply for the laymen, the atheists and other potential enemies.

On February 4, 1982, after a time of pacific active opposition, the Syrian MB Sunnis, tried an armed revolt in Hama’s city against Hafez al-Assad. His brother Rifaat al-Assad directed the military repression. Surrounded, isolated, without heavy armament, or supplies, the uprising MB were squashed by February 28. It is calculated in more than 20 thousand the rebels dead men during in the combats and in the later pursuit and mopping up. The consulted values range between 10 thousand and 40 thousand. Which indicates that they neither are checked, are not even trustworthy, coming from antagonists sources or fickle authors.

It was the epoch in which these mobs were not constituting a part of a social extensive, deep and determined action. But rather an activate «rebel military area». That was seeking to attract, after his first armed successes, wide sectors of the Sunnis Syrian population. Then, they were seditious without sufficient popular support. Not all the MB were even revolted. And that, therefore, could and must be submitted or swept by the established authorities, as irretrievable and odious rebels.

The dynastic government of the Assad and his political equipment have stopped forming a socialist and national regime a lot of time ago. As they neither represent or defend, nor integrate, the particular and collective interests of their nation. Now only support and protect the members of the social religious oligarchy. That monopolizes and distributes in different degrees the institutional, social and economic power of Syria. The Syrian regime is crystallized, without fluency, so much socially, as ideologically and administratively. And is turning into the shell of a «social political fruit», shriveled, sterile and empty.

A Panorama of national and military Strategy of the Civil War in Syria.

Strategically and in the medium term, the regime of the Assad and his institutional skeleton of the Baaz lay party and their supporters of the Republican Guard and the Air Force, the chiefs and many officials of the Army and the high ranking posts in the Administration, is finished.

Their outrages, the social fractures and the grinding time applied and caused to their heterogeneous people are too much. In order that the beginning revolutionary process (of abrupt change of regime and of political structures) has an acceptable and permanent “reverse” in Syria.

Operatively and in the medium term also, the SNA «monitored and encouraged» by the Republican Guard and the Military Security, has a wide operational movement capacity; a consistent logistic network of stores, warehouses, long distance transport and distribution transport and an IT system, that allows the control and direction of her; a sure flow of armament and equipments for replacement and a simply resounding combat capacity, against their armed semi regular and irregular enemies.

In this level of activity, it is of emphasizing the absence of the Syrian Air Force, in the combats, harassments and skirmishes that take place. It is an Army branch, technical, minority and loyal to the al-Assad, where came from daddy Hafez. That would act as air support, rebel movements interdiction and bombardment of their volatile and slightly definite “support rears” and bases of all kinds. She does not have counterinsurgency specific planes. That allow, flying at low speed, to fix the target and concentrate in it the fire, minimizing his action over not belligerent. As those of the Bronco and his derivatives family and even the old Mig-17.

Then, her employment in a revolt against poorly armed rebels and with diffuse and intermingled “fronts” with populations and neighborhoods of cities. It might give place, though more remotely that in the Lybian case, to the decision of a “military foreign intervention” of variable implications against the regime. The intervention, in this case, with the thorny and difficult political and geostrategic exposition that imply: the reluctance to her of China and Russia; the frontier nearness of The Lebanon and Iran;the natural and inconvenient allies of the regime alauí (chii) and the considerable major population of Syria, in comparison with Lybia. So, she Is stopped by the lack of direction, leadership and moral courage and of ideological and political definition of the so called Western «powers». The artillery, which is less visible and spectacular for the present and absent public, is freely used by the SNA, including the heavy organic tubes of the infantry. It is of emphasizing that in the Eastern Front war, the campaign, heavy and reactive artillery caused up to 45 % of the total losses of both rivals, against to 5 % attributed to the assault artillery and other 5 %, to the aviation. And 35 % of the losses assumed by the heavy organic weapons of both infantries. And this, taking apart that other tasks of the artillery also were to disorganize the enemy movements, to destroy equipments and fortifications and the harassment.

Tactically, the Syrian regime supported by the SNA is in conditions to defeat indefinite but not perpetually all his armed opponents. Any rebel armed force that faces him directly or that tries to defend her positions in a rigid defense without yielding space will be annihilated. The only opportunity that the armed opponents have is precisely not to be drawn by the Army to a lost combat in advance. His technologies and tactics must be the constant and far-sighted mobility; the dispersion and the infiltration, for the moment, in the urban fighting; the small, dispersed and more or less simultaneous or sequential actions in a sensible area; the echeloned escape; the fight with very limited goals and with advantageous temporary conditions; the systematic giving up of positions, forcing the enemy to deploy and prepare again. They can win for the rebel armed forces the necessary time to survive. And to manage to glimpse the victory, against the brutal national and international, political and social wear, which will suffer Bachar al-Assad’s regime, in exponential proportion to the repression time he exercises.

THE BEGINNING OF A CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA

The Syrian troops cause hundreds of dead and injured civilians in their attack to Homs’ city since Friday, 3rd of February. Justifying themselves with making “hot pursuit” of a group of supposed regular rebels in retreat. These actions in force spread already to other cities and small populations of the west of the country. This would be the summary of the news that are received from Syria during February. And with them an important qualitative change has taken place in this masked war. That is increasingly near to burst out and to develop and spread, with the typical characteristics of an armed sustained internal conflict.

Geographical Conditionings of the military Theater of Syria. His operational Characteristics in the Modern War.

Syria is fundamentally a flat country. The life and activity of his inhabitants is assembled and supported by 2 great rivers, the Orontes, which flows from north to south, and the high section of the Euphrates, which crosses his extensive and desert plains of the East, in south-east direction. A thin heights chain, the Ansariyya, which extends in its southern part in the Antilibano and Hermon mountain ranges, now close to Damascus, limits his narrow coastal plain, with Mediterranean crops. At the east of this heights succession, the Orontes, which feeds the irrigation of different crops from the Gab natural depression, allows different urban emplacements, principally Hama and Homs, from north to south. Around the Euphrates, the life sustains, thanks to the irrigations from the river and Tabqa’s dam, in the cities of Raqqa and Day the-Zawr and other minor populations.

As we have seen, the Syrian territory offers a favorable area for the operational movement and marches of the mechanized and motorized units and small units. That are capable of rapidly crossing large and surprising distances for their enemy. Using for it departure bases in their operational rear. This allows also that, any semipermanent concentration of the Syrian Free Army (SFA) could be easily reached, isolated and annihilated by the National Syrian Army (NSA) of Bashar al-Assad.

The Prolegomena of the Civil War in Syria.

Till now the combats between the rebels and the NSA were harassments, skirmishes, ambushes and small assaults to populations, which did not have the character of a «circle and siege», even partially and temporarily. All those had two key characteristics: they were very limited in time and did not have any operational projection. The falls of both «rivals», compared with those of any armed conflict that boasts, were ridiculous. On the other hand, many «minishocks» were not even detected by the normal observers or the international press.

The NSA has made one more step towards the crushing of the revolt, still in his tender buds. But already armed and spreading in «spots» over the whole west of the country. Using also in his «task», the artillery, the infantry heavy weapon and the heavy direct fire of the tanks. Heavy fire that, till now, seeks to sow the panic between the enemy soldiers and his civil supporters and the neighbors of the redoubts and strong temporary rebel points. Without that, with the direct and indirect support of their fires, take place military ground actions of operational transcendence. Only there happens the employment of «groups» of snipers by both parts. The select military men infiltrate and establish themselves, forming a short, discontinuous and broken front line, that covers a sector or strip of great frequency of movements in the population or city. And the rebels realize the neutralization action of the military snipers. And, while the panic produces the people’s move out, but rarely the flanks overflow, the soldiers advance, rolling in the created «emptiness». But without penetrating in it in force and decisively, to dismantle the rebel defense. Or to divide in sectors the enemy enclaves, as maneuver before their mop up by parts.

The self named Syrian Free Army in the Syrian Civil War.

It is a conglomerate of dispersed and unlike forces. That come from the intermittent desertion of small groups of members of the different forces of the NSA. There do not exist elements of the Air Force, which we know, between the rebels. The SFA is far from constituting an organic stable and consolidated structure. His order of battle is constituted, in his pinnacle, by the regional «brigades». These operate tactically in the “urban bed” of the Orontes. Looking only for limited goals of harassment or sudden attacks against the security forces and local important authorities. They do not have intention of defending the goals that are occupied. And they shelter at once, more or less deployed, in the nearby mountain chains. Or, forming small but integrated units, in some neighborhoods of the turbulent cities of Homs, Hama and other populations.

This rebel Syrian army, is better qualified and trained that the local «brigades» (hundreds of Lybian improvised «qatibas», in the style of «sans cullottes» or of the Iranian «basijs») of the questionable Libyan National Counsel of Transition. At least, his men possess a unit of doctrine, regulations and armaments. They have plenty of the varied personnel weapons, including the RPG family and her improved HEAT rockets of hollow lcharge and free flight and some heavy infantry armament (mortars and machine guns). His great weakness is his penury of armored vehicles, of artillery and of the antitank organic weapons of the companies and the specific battalions for antitank fighting. And the lack of a logistic stable network, sufficient and provided regularly.

Here also exists the social psychological phenomenon of raising in 2 or 3 degrees the category, the real size and the capacity of the real deployed and operative units. And that, for stale, does not cheat anybody.

Other active Protagonists of the Civil War in Syria.

The Syrian Army is the army of the nation. And it is formed proportionally as her, by a majority of sunnies recruits. That is which feeds, together with NCO s and junior officials of same origin, as an exuberant nursery, the ranks of the FSA. The Army is formed by approximately 200 thousand persons, most of recruit. The potential of the nation for a supported annual recruitment is around 220 thousand men. And it can reach even more than 320 thousand persons, with the first mobilization. Army is integrated by 3 army corps and varied and numerous independent units, with all the branches and available services. Within his upbringing is included a «political indoctrination». Not as severe, extensive and constant as that in the Communist armies, that look to imbue them with hatred towards the Zionist enemy and with loyalty to the Government and the Party.

The Army is «observed and controlled» by a younger brother of Bashar, Mahir, from his headquarters of the Republican Guard (the Haras al-Jumhuriyya). And by his brother-in-law Asef Shawkat, who directs the whole State Security, through his different institutional branches. In all the military «units» are «observers» of the Military Intelligence. Also there are several «Special Forces»units, formed exclusively by alauits volunteers, that nowadays received the joint name of «Force of Rapid Deployment», at the usage of other national armies. They are light infantry reinforced units, with the highest level in motivation, training and combat readiness.

If we want to speak about the combative efficiency of the Syrian Army, we have to depart from his specific “combat capacities». Definite and calculated by colonel Trevor Dupuy. And that refer to real values exhibited in conflicts. The last ones, calculated from the Yom Kippur’s War, were giving a value of 2,54 Syrian soldiers for one of the Tsahal. This was placing them over Jordanians and Egyptians, with values below 2. For more than 20 years, an improvement is perceived in the quality of the military personnel. And the junior officials receive now more tasks and are promoted also by his value, within the habitual parameters of the Arabic armies.

In this multicolored social military scene, are also present a few purely local autonomous militias, without operative connection between them. They do not exist in all the places and neighborhoods. There are out of the Baaz and his politician paramilitary militias that, for the moment, are inactive. Those try to keep a minimum of social internal order and the safety and the movement of the citizens and goods in the different enclaves, small populations and slums where they act. Their armament is merely the infantry personnel weapons and hunting firearms, in very varied number and composition depending on their location and contacts. Both the «task groups» of the SNA and the rebel bands keep, in this period of development of the fighting, a tolerant status quo with these civil militias. Which realize a suitable civil police labor for all.

In many alauits neighborhoods operates a paramilitary governmental militia (the «habiha»), formed by select militants of the Baaz. In different Sunnis neighborhoods act irregular armed rebels from the Muslim Brothers. It is very scanty the presence of radical religious Salafists and his furthermore exiguous local appendices. The past suicide attacks in Damascus were ascribed to them. This introduces a “social instability factor” in the “real parameters” of this war. That performs major effect and importance, that would correspond to it by the number and aggressiveness efficiency of these social religious radical Islamic. Finally, there also are «Sunnis irregular volunteers» from Iraq, without pays since the retreat of the USA. That would be crossing the Syrian border and her Eastern desert, to join the armed fight against the regime of the Baaz.

(to be continued)

THE NETWORKS WAR II.

(continuation)

The urban effective guerrilla war. Another principal domain for the swarming groups in the networks war theory.

It is not easy to use and defend the urban zones of repulse. Its employment demands high requirements to the rebel combatants:

An enough motivation, which encourages them to follow the arms way and risking their lives for their cause. And appeases and rationalizes them the inevitable fear of the fighting in the close distances with a superior enemy, until the seniority offers to them new impulses.

A good training in the infantry fighting, which gives them trade and confidence. A successful cooperation between the small units that garrison the zones, that guarantees them a cohesion without fissures in their tenuous and lean deployment. And that allows and facilitates the command conduction and the accomplishment of his plans. To get iron nerves tempered by everything previous, that accustom them to fight in solitary or in small groups, refusing to flee in face of the implacable threat of the military heavy fire. For all this, among the few tens of thousands of armed rebels existing, not more than 15% of them can in these moments use this kind of defensive fight. The military networks and the swarming of «small sections» have in these two operational characteristics, their major deficiencies.

These urban irregular enemies are protected extending their defensive positions beyond the necessary in a conventional defense, covering this way a major occupied surface. In the defense zone they establish delaying points, more or less reinforced. These protect the most critical positions of the zone, that incorporate in the defense the buildings with steel structure, specially resistant, and form fire bags to trap the enemy that gets through. The resistance nests have here more importance, provided that the occupation of the zone of defense is more tenuous, that they cannot strengthen the positions too much for covered reasons, the sights are more short and exist numerous approximation routes. They depend on the delaying points and to them they fall back if are invaded or destroyed. Numerous alternative or extras positions exist, more of the habitual in the urban fighting. This allows to deceive the military enemy about the forward limit of the defense position, its real extension, the limits of the sectors that form it, the intentions of the rebel command of the zone about its defense and to disperse the heavy fire of the attacker. In the edges of the urban zones they never establish these fixed positions. Those are occupied by combat advanced parties, which mission is to receive the possible explorers or civil observers, to avoid surprises and to deceive about the tracing of the defensive zone. The occupants of combat advanced positions, distributed in pairs of sentries and some very small mobile patrols, fall back in their moment towards the more interiors delaying points.

These «fortresses» are diffuse, secret and imperceptible to strangers. In a few hours the previous works are reinforced and occupied. Its communication routes need more working time to get done, but also are less evident. It is necessary to enter the houses to detect perforated walls and to find alleys under a furniture or a carpet. These positions are not complex. They need a few interlaced firing sectors, an immediate protection against the enemy irruption in mass or with elite commands, some covers against the heavy normal fire and a sufficient concealment that covers them from the sights of the enemy probable successive positions and his approximation avenues. The obstacles and the mines, even false in certain percentage and always distantly to not betray them, will serve to break the enemy assault and to offer to them more static targets, for example for the mortars, which will have registered its fires. The destruction that generates the wide heavy fire support without aiming a precise target, reinforces the rebel combat positions, surrounding them with debris that divide and impede the accesses of the military, except when they are reached by a ordnance direct impact. To operate this defensive structure the rebels have prepared numerous and narrow tunnels, dragging trenches and gaps in garden walls and interior walls of the buildings. In such a way that, away from the enemy sights, allow them to occupy the combat and observation positions at wish, to defend them more or less time or not, to move among them and to reinforce the most threatened or pressed places.

Generally they try to shoot from the front, with isolated or couples snipers armed with the SVD or M-14 sniper rifles, at individual and small groups of enemies. And to attack from the flank or the rear at the enemy units that penetrate in their defensive zone, which already are disintegrated in squads or sections with one or two armored vehicles. Those prepared communications allow them to appear, always in small number, behind or at the flanks of the units, while these stop, regroup, ask or receive instructions, or decide where to advance, and to erode them, causing some casualties. For example, from a basement or a floor, through an irregular hollow in a yard or garden wall, under a parked or destroyed vehicle in the street, where it emerges a narrow tunnel with a covered and disguised exit. From these positions the armed rebels throw some RPG-7V rockets or several short blasts, always aiming, of the RPK light machine gun or the obsolete RPD. The interior houses courts serve them to place the mortars, which constitute their the only «heavy fire» source, protected by an infantry position. They fired them with the maximum angles on the abundant, large and always excessive military concentrations. The usual mortar is the 82 mm. Russian modern M-1937 model. Here that the attacker presents three times more men (in means the proportion must be 20 to 1) neither favors nor facilitates their labor. But this offers the persecuted defender more targets to be able to use his exiguous fire power. Especially because, in a given moment, is small the attackers’ proportion that are putting in real distress the defenders.

Also they possess an effective and increasing anti-aircraft defense of short range. From other courts and roofs, always protected by a nearby infantry resistance nest, several teams of light anti-aircraft rocket shoulder launchers carriers are arranged. Their location in the deployment is done depending on the most probable and most dangerous aircraft approximation directions for the defense. If they are sufficient and shoot skilful, they could use two nearby, but not contiguous launchers, whom form a team, and that shoot successively and rapidly (the SAM-18 flies at 2 Mach) against an aircraft or towards an enemy air formation in immediate approximation to its target. A typical rocket would be the SAM 7, called «grail» and «strela» (arrow) in not Cyrillic Russian. It had successive improvements and today is replaced in the military arsenals by the SAM 18 former mentioned, that has a useful attack height of 3,5 km (the double). And guides, a fuel rocket, an explosive head and a bait detector, all improved. The shoulder shooter limits himself to direct the launcher already loaded towards its target, wait until the missile confirms the target’s acquisition and then squeeze again the trigger. And to get hide.

The crucial moment for the defense comes when the zone commander decides to evacuate it, after having stopped and delayed the enemy for some time. Trying to cause him losses as high as possible, but without been exposed excessively to a fighting at the close distances, or to be outflanked or to lose his freedom of action. This is inexorably tied to the transfer of space to the military enemies. For it the rebels avoid in opportune moment the direct assault of their enemy, not his extensive or vague bombardment. The rebels must have sufficient exit tunnels directed to not very nearby buildings (often official and even respectable (mosques), offices, companies and some houses) or not evident dry riverbeds (wadis) and bushes in the open land. From there they could disperse through the ground in very small groups towards friends reception positions, in the first moments. The protection of the evacuation is therefore vital and both entrances or exits from these tunnels are always covered by resistance nests, which take to end their rigid defense.

All this cohesion, discipline, formation, training and firm and effective command of the irregular classic units, are distant of those of a military lax structure of networks or of the swarming of independent groups over an enemy or defending itself from him. Where are in this new theory, the center of gravity or the reiteration of efforts or the saving and optimization of the material and human means?

The effective operability of the units and small military units.

The war of networks tends to a too extensive subdivision of the military units. Turning out the «little group» or the net «knot», as tactical independent effective unit (TIEU). With them they would seek to extend the front (so the actions) on a more awkward or passive enemy, to disturb to his command and to alter his plan of fires.

But this is not practical in the operational level of the war.

The subunits tactically related need to have and keep a strip of advance or, at least, the little ones, a direction; a protected and concealed support fires (antitank and anti-aircraft defense and for neutralization and blinding of the enemy); the operational and permanent nearness of a logistic vehicles team, at least for health and to re-put ammunitions; a depth of the deployment, with a certain reserves; and his protection towards the exposed flanks and rear. All this supposes a minimal «tactical entity united and commanded», to keep both his security and resistance to the surprises, his combative efficiency, his deployment and his capacity of tactical movement.

And that they have to share with their companion units, a part of the fulfillment of the aim of their high command. And to have a combat mission directed on the enemy, as part of the gravit center of the efforts of the «major unit» of her. To avoid that these “group or nude” type units roam through the operational field, without a clear, effective and operatively transcendent intention.

All this reduces capacity and possibilities of employment to the networks and to the clusters of multiple «micro or small independent units», within the spectrum of the «situations of efficiency» that are raised and offered by the theory.

Here is an example of the correct employ of modern conventional military units. Against a reinforced infantry position that has advanced antitank weapons, a typical defensive zone, if it cannot be outflanked, an enemy dismounted infantry can break through or destroy it. It can be follow by tanks advancing by covered bounds to offer protection and direct fire support. The defender’s antitank will look for a relatively large and protected target, that it can hit from covered positions or, at least, from well-camouflaged positions, that are flanking the armored vehicles. And will fire by batteries with dispersed guns, so that the same enemy heavy fire can not incapacitate them. The infantry’s heavy weapons (machine guns in tripods) neutralize by «sweeping and searching» a more or less narrow frontal zone, that is occupied in depth by small, soft, dispersed targets such as an infantry platoon.

Attacking tanks can use H.E. and H.E.S.H. shells to overcome infantry strong positions and their infantry squads can attack with light machine guns the enemy antitank weapons, to prevent them from sighting or fix a target. All this destruction and neutralization, once irruption is achieved, proceeds in worm-like movements deep into the tactical zone of the assault sector of the interarms unit. Other parts of the enemy’s position that could collaborate in the rejection are blocked by smoke and/or neutralized by indirect fire.

At the same time, advanced observers from artillery and aviation corps will be defining new targets to its units, in addition to those found by assault units along the flanks and deep (through combat exploration) in the advance sector. The criterion of the gravity center of the fire of support at least will be neutralize all the targets that are opposed to the advance towards the enemy position, to the irruption and to the struggle inside the defense position of in the assigned sector. This will facilitate the direct fire and shock produced by the ground attackers, by means of concentrated and precise fire blows.

This optimizes effective action in a given environment at the level of the tactical groups of action or combined arms systems, whose complementariness has been described. In broken, undulating, wooded or urbanized (housings and factories) areas (not necessarily mountainous), the lack of sight control and the abundant “concealing relative heights” reduce the sector of “interfaces of action” with the enemy.

The suitably-sized “combined arms system” continues to be the element of effective action. The action is effected by companies or reinforced interarms platoons, with heavy fire support provided by battalions (medium and heavy mortars). Except in areas that are very flat and with few “sight obstructions”, ground “transitability” (more than simply “ground on going”), which physically limits the possible “interfaces of action” with the enemy, can prevent the fight using concentrated resources that are beyond those of a company. The battalion role will be to reinforce the efforts and distributing supports.

In these cases, existing communication ways, especially those more or less perpendicular to the front, are critical to land actions. Blockading these ways affects tempo (the total speed of the operation) enormously, by the difficulty presented by sloping or obstructed areas that surrounds them (forests, gullies, constructions, un-reinforced fords). The advance slows down or the forces have to be dispersed onto parallel available routes, forcing them to enter other difficult bordering areas.

Otherwise, contingency plans for units must provide for overcoming four types of unforeseen situations that can impede or endanger a mission. These include:

a) Possible direct action by the enemy in using or recovering initiative. This might take the form of an interdiction bombardment or counterattack. The solution is to tactically neutralize his action, without compromising the mission.

b) Possible encounter with the enemy. This could occur during combat exploration patrols or could be confronted by sentries, advanced security forces and advanced detachments and deep exploration patrols. It is necessary to submit or push back the enemy and to rapidly and temporarily change positions or direction, to not compromise the mission.

c) Possible unforeseen obstacles. These could be ditches, slopes of more difficult soil, blown-up bridges, floods, and storms that affect an area’s transitability. It is important to overcome these as rapidly as possible, while maintaining security and extending exploration.

d) Possible defensive/passive action of the enemy. These can take the form of an ambush, minefield, reinforced cut defended by fire, rejection fires of a defense position or antitank obstacles. These must be overcome as soon as possible, as in the case of natural obstacles, to avoid being moved by the enemy in a direction that is favorable to a counterattack or toward a zone covered by artillery or by convergent fires (bag fires zones).

In general terms, including in the commander’s plan, these must always be pursued:

1) To overcome or repel the enemy and/or unforeseen obstacles which hinder one’s forces and provide information to the enemy.

2) Avoid losing resources (or resources that are neutralized, detached or repulsed) that are important for fulfilling the mission. The surviving enemy can use compromising information, but he may receive it too late to be effective intelligence for him.

3) Resources necessary for the mission must be available for its execution. This multiplies efficiency, after commotion and the incident losses, to maintain a high momentum of execution: this being the product of combat capacity by the average speed of movement in a given period and in a certain direction.

The example of the preparation and action of General Patton’s 3^rd American army in counterattacking the German penetration in the Ardennes illustrates the difficulties (its «incident» was a sudden change of mission, direction and execution) and the possibilities gave by the «momentum» of execution.

None of this is improvised. It is the result of practice and is the fruit of frequent training, the organization of work and the coordination of the H.Q. and all commands. These sayings remind us of this: «it is performed as it is trained» and «the man is an animal of habit».

In practice the degree of general military obtained efficiency, will be determined by the idiosyncrasy of the nation, the character more or less gregarious or independent of her peoples, both her military doctrine and tradition, the defense budgets, her » national moral», which feeds and holds her «will of defense», the political national and international situation, the integration of her institutions and national organisms in the regional or international area, etc.

THE NETWORKS WAR

An Innovation or a Rhetorical Redundancy?

In the last five-year periods diverse theories are appearing on the action of military units in networks, or forming a «cluster», around a slower tactical aim This with minor combative alert and/or deficiencies in exploration or intelligence and with worse shooting sectors for his rejection fires. An analysis of his mechanisms and operations demonstrates that they really lack the structural originality and the wide combative efficiency that they raise and offer.

The operational of the «netwars» and the «clusters» of small units of action.

The «little groups» that would create the hived of erosive actions on the enemy or the «networks» that wrap, scourge and/or isolate the goal, not always are or have to be such “small units” «almost independent». An example of the efficiency of the centripetal action of a whole Army, maneuvering on the enemy by Army Corps, in an dislocating and constrictive action, is the battle of Ulm.

In September, 1805 Napoleon moved his «Army of England» to the Rhine, deploying his 208000 men between Mainz and Strasbourg and renamed he the «Great Army». The French “Grande Armée” was formed by 145000 infantrymen and 38000 troopers, joined 7 Army Corps, each one at the orders of a French marshal, a great cavalry reserve commanded by the marshal Prince Murat and the Imperial Guard, directly under Napoleon; to them 25000 allied Bavarians were added.

Taking as usual in him the initiative, Napoleon decides to give the first strategic blow against the army of 72000 Austrians that, at the orders of the general Mack and the archduke Fernando, son of the emperor Francisco II, was advancing towards Ulm, without waiting the arrival of help from their allied Russian.

Napoleon is going to use against the Austrians what we can call an operational effort of gravity center. It would form, if you like so, a network. But an immense network with very fat knots. Whose «singular functioning», already was satisfactorily and profitably offering and explaining by the operational strategy. The characteristics of the process of establishment and functioning of it are the originality, the flexibility of the deployment, the consistency, its not predictability by the enemy and the efficiency.

The operational gravity center supposes the centripetal action of all the means and their lines of action, of the «branched out» activity of all the units and services. Not necessarily coincidental, but convergent and resultant in their synergy, in their efficiency and in the result. By means of the different and coordinated lines of advance or of action, we induce uncertainty and insecurity in the enemy, disperse his rejection capacity and disturb his Defense Plan and its systematic conduction by his commands.

In an ample advance of his independent Army Corps, the Grande Armée (around 210000 men) quickly crossed the center of Germany, from the Rhine to the Danube, between September, 25 and October, 6. With this, it operationally interposed between the Austrians (about 40000 men) and their allied Russian forces that went to help them. The Austrians did not understand the need of the rapidity of the movements, thinking only about the battle, as the only instrument of the decision. The French initiated the crossing of the Danube on October 7, 1805 and, during the following week, Napoleon converge most of his Army Corps in an enormous restricting spiral on Ulm, while a Corp with enough forces watched for the arrival from the east of Russian General Kutuzov.

General Mack made, in vain, several attempts at rupturing Napoleon’s forces, applying his greatest efforts in Haslach and Elchingen. Both Austrian commanders quarreled among themselves and Archduke Fernando, with his 6000 troopers, separated from the main force and tried to escape to the northeast. But Archduke Fernando’s forces were surrounded and beaten by the cavalry Corps of Murat, near Trochtelfingen. Another 12000 Austrians surrendered in Neustadt.

General Mack and the rest of his men (about 27000, after the mentioned battles), with Napoleon’s overwhelming forces at the doors of Ulm since October, 14, came out the city and laid down their weapons at the feet of mounts Michelsberg. The capitulation was signed by General Mack on the 20th. The campaign, without properly battles, cost Austria more than 50000 men (around 70%) of her initial forces of about 70000 troops.

The explanation of this Napoleon’s paradigmatic success, being served the habitual theories of the war, the exploitation of the human weaknesses (emotional intelligence) and the “correct sense” of the command, seems to us more natural, appropriate and established.

The subversive Islamic networks. The case of al-Qaida. His real «military» operational.

The operational actual characteristics are:

His unnecessary and indiscriminate brutality, which discredits them with his religion. We can mention a minimum of 4 important moral “aleyas”or verses, that they despise and disobey, without Allah had changed these for them. Sura 2, aleya 100 «We do not abrogate any verse of this book, or we will not make erase one alone of your memory, without replacing it by an equal or better other one».

The absolute absence of venerable and pious ulemas and muftíes at his side. These are the doctors of the Koranic Islamic Law and of the Sunna.

His great operational decentralization because the universality of the Umma, which comes out the idea of nation or race. This prevents them from obtaining permanent strategic aims. Though his punctual actions are important, painful and fearsome.

This way, his fighting area is tactical, using «actions of bite and flee». Which, paradoxically are very similar to those of the regular armies who fight them. That, avoiding the personal risks and the close distances fighting, use their elite forces in «actions of hunt, capture and extraction or death». And use their “drones”, as expression of their confidence in their technological support. This is the military reason of the lack of efficiency of the western soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. And not mixing in a superior aim at operational level, the different and costly actions that carry out in these countries. Which deprives of real results the labors of education, social and civil development and pacification of their governments and the foreign military forces and expatriated civilians. Since those need the complementarity of the military victory and the progressive physical and/or social isolation of the radical rebels, to be effective and permanent.

The accumulated cost of the military American interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan (so called «war against the terror») was till now 2,2 trillions of dollars. This bleeding throughout a decade to the income of the USA Administration, has specially helped to increase the deficit of his National Debt. And to giving reasons to the Obama Administratiion to initiate an extraordinary political and strategic retreat, «to attend now to the things at home» and «to limit ourselves to the war against al-Qaida». Without leaving our allies and friends, of course.

And his action primer element is the terror. This way, his victory is thanks to those they can terrify or, at least, worry very much. And in the plethoric and slightly effective mobilization of the economic and social resources of the enemy nations. And, because the major vigilance, capacity and means of the western countries, they do not hesitate to operate against other Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, etc.

His failure in active and firmly joining to a social wide group, which would gives coverage and permanent impulse to his movement. The most mentally ill activists are in the habit of being isolating progressively from society (at least, emotional and ideologically), though they «live» within her. For the sake of his violent methods, to which they sacrifice everything for the efficiency. They follow a process of segregation, purification (in his unexpected not orthodox rites they fast, use water of sacred places and green streamers with inscriptions of the verses that favor they), consecration and radicalization. Up to coming to the death and even to the suicide in his punctual actions.

His zeal for advertising, to which the West contributes insensitively, stupidly and tast.

His aim to strike all governments, as the radical and aggressive caliphate in «dar-el–Islam» (Muslim integrated independent lands) does not exist nowadays.

Al-Qaida is an Islamic radical movement organized vertically and from below to above, that spreads and makes concrete in his «franchise swarms». His structure, flex, decentralized, release, makes that his «cells» do not know exactly which are the higher chiefs. They only know where they have to go to receive support or to send or receive information or to communicate with another «equal» cell. The high commands of this movement act by exception, not by presence or by deliberate action.. This way, they give doctrinal orientations, establish great lines of military and proselytizing action for the different territories and areas, they throw threats and notices to the enemy governments and indicate punctual important aims (seudo strategic) at the level of the whole organization, though they should be realized in a given area. This allows them to work enough good, without the intervention of their high commands. Among these chaps or «barons of the fanatical death», are Addel Malek Droukdel, leader of al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghrib, and Abu Bakar Bashir, called the «clergyman militiaman», founder of the Jeemah Islamiya or al-Qaida of Indonesia and condemned in June, 2011 to 15 years of prison in his country. The «martyrdom» of Ayman al-Zawahiri al-Masri (the Egyptian), former «managing director» of Bin Laden, in a bombardment with drones or ordnance, would affect little to their efficiency, at their current levels of military irregular action.

How work the networks and the swarms of small units and in which circumstances?

The battle of mount Majuba (February 27, 1881) was a case of effective employment of the «small independent units». That hived on an enemy conventional unit, type battalion, and destroyed he, finishing with it the First Boer War.

At the end of this, general Colley directed a small British army to Transvaal territory. Here he decided to occupy Majuba’s extinct volcano with 600 m. height and that was dominating the right exposed flank of the camp of wagons (laager) of the Boers. The British force was consisting of approximately 650 men, integrated in 4 companies from different regiments, and lacking field artillery and machine guns. They occupied the flat summit, which was free and established positions in her, in his edges and in the south base of the height, to protect their retreat to the nearby base of mount Prospect.

Though surprised, when the Boers verified the absence of artillery of the British, they prepared to recover the mountain. To their favor they had the total knowledge of the area and their great mobility in it. The mount was formed by alternative strata of schists and limestone, with deep gullies and masses of rocks and thick bushes of dark mimosa. With what the sights of the different defensive British sectors were intermittent and of short range. All this was ought to the independent and irregular character of the Boers shooters and riders. That, even, were feeling free to move to any part of a battlefield, where they believed themselves more useful. Till then, the Boers were keeping a defensive strategy in the war.

The first group of 50 men came to the Majuba’s north slope and were taken by the «general» Smit round the hill, to its south side, to fix the British placed there. Boers’ clusters were appearing from all the sides and continued waiting for their chiefs’ arrival for directing them. Approximately 150 Boers began to climb over the hillsides in different moments, while a similar number was supporting them with a neutralization fire on the edges of the summit. The men who were rising were gathering in independent clusters. In them, a part of the Boers was climbing from a refuge or concealment to other one, whereas other part was offering to them a barrier of gunfire. The latter part, under the protection of the first one, was climbing then up to the last reached level. This work of approximation to the top extended for approximately 6 hours.

The British were kept under cover in the edges, but soon they realized that the enemy was approaching below them. The first assault crowned in the west side. The company of 92º infantry regiment of lieutenant Hamilton began to be attacked from the front and its reverse. Some subunits kept as reserves in the center of the small plateau were advanced to the west. The British were keeping their disciplined fire by volleys. The Boers were shooting individually, resting on ground and loading and began another shooting cycle. The British moved back towards the center of the position. Some Boers, which were coming almost to the top from the west, moved to the north and also attacked the right enemy flank. Others reached also the top from the south, also attacking lined up to the left flank.

The British tried then the break for the south side, lowering in a hurry and taking the way to mount Prospect. In the pursuit there took place the majority of his casualties. The British suffered 96 dead, 132 injured and 56 prisoners. The Boers had 1 dead and 5 injured men. Several are the operative and tactical mistakes of the Red Coats in this final campaign of the war: to lack campaign artillery to beat the camp of the Boers, that had served them to repel to the «clusters» enemy that were appearing in the top; his shooting technique was ineffective against fleeting and dispersed targets; they were not knowing and did not explore the area in which the battalion spread out; the Boers, as all the irregular soldiers, highly displease the close combat and/or by the bayonet, but, in this case, they did not avoid and used it, which surprised the enemy.

But also, this approximation work to the assault distances and without losses of the own combat capacity, can be perfectly realized by many military «action units», without engineers’ training. Divided in teams and still in men pairs or buddy teams, they can take advantage of small drops, flooded fields, verges, ditches, bushes zones, ravines, etc., and even with the concealment of the night and/or the smokes. To close on the enemy and realize an non too deep incursion or to reach his flanks or his rear, even slipping between his combat positions. And though the enemy is strengthened and provided with heavy fires, it can be done by more upbringing and trained units. For it is necessary to have and to keep a previous exploration of the enemy, his movements and habits. The employment of the grenades and not the individual fires of is fundamental to confuse the sentries and the enemy combat positions, of the scope and intentions of the attacker.

Also the war networks and the military clusters can work in favorable circumstances with cavalry irregular mobile forces. An example is the battle Carras (in Latin, Carrhae, nowadays, Harran, in Turkey), where the Partian archers riders of the general Surena defeated the triunviro Marco Licinio Craso and his Roman legions in 53 B.C. The Roman army of approximately 39 thousand men, only was possessing 4 thousand light infantry or vélites and 4 thousand riders. Craso penetrated in the northen plains of Syria in pursuit of the enemy, who was refusing the fight. Finally, near Carras the battle raised up, in an area totally favorable to the cavalry.

The Romans formed a defensive rectangle, which was surrounded by the Partian cavalry, that only the Scitians overcame they in quality and capacity. After some initial skirmishes with the vélites, the Partians were hived on the formed infantry. And they began a long harassment from the effective shooting distance of their arrows and lances, out of the range of the Roman pila and gladius. The legionary deployment faced a dilemma: if they were keeping such closed formations, they would end hurt by the enemy missiles, and, if they were trying to charge on them, breaking a little their formation, simply they were avoiding by them. The Partians squadrons were attacking following a given direction. His riders were approaching by rows, were throwing his missiles and were moving back to his rear following their sides, in an endless and infernal cycle. The harassment lasted up to the dusk.

During the night, a part of the legions sheltered in Carras. The following day, they continued their retreat up to the nearby Armenian mounts, where the cavalry had a difficult area. Surena offered to negotiate to Craso. But, during the negotiations it arose a fight and Craso was dead. After this, the remains of the Roman army dispersed or gave up themselves. Only approximately 5 thousand men came back to their departing camps, approximately 10 thousand were caught and the rest was dead. After this experience, the Romans progressively increased the cavalry of their armies and legions. And at the beginning of the 4th century A.D., she supposed 25 % of their forces.

The one that believes that in similar circumstances, favorable to the mobile swarms and with direct effective fire capacity, these results always repeat, can be wrong. In effect, on the 27th and 28th of October, 1942 in the Egyptian desert a series of comat meetings took place between German and Italian units of the Afrika Korps and 2 º battalion of the brigade of Rifles of the British army. This one took fixed positions in an opened place called Snipe, at the west of the Kidney hill. With the reinforcement and concealment of the positions and the support of a group of 19 6 pounds (53 mm.) antitank cannons, the Britishs could surprise their enemies on their limits and location, reject several direct assaults of the tanks of the Afrika Korps and resist several bombardments of artillery and assault cannons.

At the end of the second day of combats, the Germans left their attempts of squashing and invading the Snipe position. They had lost in them more than 50 diverse armored vehicles. Snipe was resisting and was kept. Though a third of the garrison had fall and only had 6 useful antitanks. Almost all the Bren machinegun vehicles of the battalion were destroyed. Finally, the Britishs left the position and withdrew.

The circumstances and the epochs that can favor the “units clusters” or the networks war are very selective and exclusive. This way, the own theory, though correct, is at least insufficient and not much elaborated and, therefore, probably unnecessary. In effect, any new theory that looks for his implantation, respect and acceptance, must explain satisfactorily all the aspects known about a given phenomenon (the tactics, the logistics, the operational level, etc). This is a necessary condition, but it is not sufficient. And, here his innovation and principal value will reside, it must make clear new ways of approximation and advance to a major knowledge and domain of the mentioned phenomenon.

(to be continued)