A former French officer and veteran of the Algerian War, David Galula, laid out five laws of counterinsurgency:
- The objective is the population.
- The population's support is not spontaneous, it must be organized and it only comes from the minority that supports the counterinsurgent.
- The minority will emerge only if the counterinsurgent is seen as the ultimate victor. If he is irresolute or incompetent, he will never find enough supporters.
- The counterinsurgent will never have enough troops to cover the entire country, and will be forced to concentrate his efforts area by area.
- The population's loyalty is dictated by the answer to these questions: Which side is going to win? Which side threatens the most, and which offers the most protection?
NEXT STORY: Generation Passion: Charts