Assymetric warfare

Security challenges arising from hybrid threats and hybrid warfare, HT&HW, are today high on the security agenda not only in Sweden but across the globe. Despite the attention and the growing body of studies on the subject, there is a lack of research bringing attention to how these challenges can be addressed. This article contributes to such an approach by sharing the findings of a project that brings together practitioners and scholarly perspectives on this subject spanning the threats themselves as well as the tools and means to counter them. The article outlines the Western response to hybrid threats and hybrid warfare. It is argued that there is no single response to HT&HW, nor to building resilience. HT&HW needs to be addressed through a comprehensive, all-inclusive approach. Finally, the article outlines how we address these challenges in practice.

"Los choques entre Irán y Estados Unidos durante los años 80 en el Golfo Pérsico llevó a las autoridades iraníes a sacar desiguales conclusiones sobre el empleo de tácticas navales convencionales y no convencionales. Mientras que la armada iraní fue derrotada en sus enfrentamientos con la V Flota de Estados Unidos, las acciones de los Guardianes de la Revolución ("pasdarán") lograron causar interrupciones del tráfico marítimo en la zona.

A partir de aquellas experiencias, Irán ha desarrollado tácticas y medios para el desarrollo de la guerra naval asimétrica en el Estrecho de Ormuz."

A nuestro entender, todo conflicto es, por lo general, asimétrico. Esto ha ocurrido así desde los tiempos bíblicos, como nos cuenta la historia de David y Goliat. Es difícil encontrar dos o más adversarios que cuenten con los mismos medios de lucha. Durante la batalla, el que se siente en inferioridad de condiciones intentará el empleo de las armas y de las técnicas de manera innovadora si desea prevalecer. Esta asimetría es talvez el elemento dinámico que ha llevado al desarrollo histórico de los sistemas de armas y de su empleo en el combate, es decir, la táctica (Beaufre; 1965:29). Pero esto afecta también, y posiblemente en mayor grado, a la estrategia, en su definición más bien de Beaufre que de Clausewitz, ya que se refiere al empleo de todas las fuerzas, y no únicamente a las militares, para intentar convencer al adversario que emprender o proseguir la lucha es inútil. (Beaufre; 1965:30)

British military personnel in action in Aden With centuries of experience garnered from waging wars of colonial conquest, combating revolutionary movements and imperial policing, the British Army has been seen as an expert institution in the area of counter-insurgency operations. The high regard held for the theoretical constructions of British military officers such as Orde Wingate, Robert Thompson and Frank Kitson seemingly bear this out. But defining a counter-insurgency campaign as a 'success' or a 'victory' poses problems. This is because most of the counter-insurgency operations conducted after the ending of the Second World War occurred against the backdrop of decolonisation. This meant that regardless of whether such operations were deemed to be successful or not, the countries within which the operation was conducted were embarked upon a path of political independence. And even where they were adjudged successful, the legacy of these campaigns, replete with disregard for the rule of law and violations of the human rights of civilian populations, have left a pall of moral darkness.

The conquest and colonisation of the northeastern Baltic Rim in the 13th century durably shaped religious and ethnic identities of and relations between the native population and the arriving crusaders. This article explores the codes and displays of hospitality in the anonymous ‘Livonian Rhymed Chronicle’, which are seen here as ways of conceptualising the relationship and conflicts between the Teutonic Knights and the pagan or apostate people in Livonia. It asks which consequences the framing of the host-guest relations might have had for the self-comprehension of the chronicle’s author and his audience. The analysis of the chronicle is pursued along three lines: the first focuses on the questions of chivalry, courtesy, and conversion; the second explores different renditions of a miracle story of inhospitality from the 1220s; the third focuses on the conceptual metaphors of hospitality as a way in which the Teutonic Knights accommodated their adversaries’ viewpoints. In its conclusions, the article argues how a broad focus on the institutions, concepts, and discourses of hospitality can help account for both confrontational and amicable attitudes between the colonisers and the colonised both on the Baltic frontier and among other European frontier societies.

Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction
Part V: The Broader Strategic Context

by Anathony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz

December 8, 2008

Iran’s nuclear ambitions and missile programs, and their interactions with its growing capabilities for asymmetric warfare, are becoming steadily more critical security issues for the US, Iran’s neighbors, and the international community. The foreign and domestic policy implications for the US will be a major issue that the next administration must address during its first months in office.

Iran’s actions, and the Iraq War, have already made major changes in the military balance in the Gulf and the Middle East. Iran may still be several years to half a decade away from becoming a meaningful nuclear power, but even a potential Iranian nuclear weapon has already led Iran’s neighbors, the US, and Israel to focus on the nuclear threat it can pose and its long-range missile programs.

The Burke Chair has prepared a new set of briefs, prepared by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz, which summarize Iran’s actions, current and potential capabilities, and the possible outcome of a nuclear exchange. This briefing draws on official statements, US intelligence judgments, work by the IAEA, and material provided by a number of other research centers, including the Nuclear Threat Initiative, ISIS, the Federation of American Scientists, Global Security, and the Brooking Institution among others.

The Burke Chair is releasing these documents in a series of working drafts in an effort to obtain outside views, comments, criticisms, and additions. We hope to use such comments to provide a more comprehensive and more accurate picture of Iran’s controversial and destabilizing WMD programs despite the uncertainty surrounding these foreign policy nightmares.

The most current draft is now available on the CSIS web site at:
http://www.csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/081208_IranNucStratCon.pdf
This draft is key to understanding the broader strategic context of Iran’s WMD programs.
Iran has found that an overall asymmetric strategy would be most beneficial to maintaining balance of power and expanding its power and influence in the Middle East region. This strategy has also enabled the Iranian government and military to operate more covertly, both in terms of building capabilities for covert, proxy, and indirect warfare, and in developing a possible nuclear weapons program.

Tehran focused its defense efforts on creating a force structure to pursue an asymmetric strategy which focuses more on the use of proxies to create greater regional instability and export its revolution, while at the same time it has pushed the limits in its missile programs, and pursued the research and development of chemical and biological agents as well as a suspect nuclear program; which together have the makings of a very dangerous and WMD program. 

This is why any assessment of Iran’s motives and capabilities must look beyond the previous assessments of the military balance. Whatever Iran’s actual motives may be a combination of its emerging strengths in asymmetric warfare and nuclear-armed missile forces that can deter or limit conventional reprisals can do much to compensate for its lack of modern conventional forces. 

Iran can exploit a combination of carefully selected precision guided munitions systems, weapons of mass destruction, and the widening use of asymmetrical warfare strategies to make up for shortcomings in conventional warfighting capabilities. Its long-range missiles and WMD programs can both provide a powerful deterrent and support its asymmetric strategies.

This draft covers the broader strategic context of Iran’s WMD real and potential capability. It covers how all of the aspects of Iran’s WMD programs fit into the broader strategic context with Iran’s conventional military forces, the IRGC, use and support of proxies, and ambiguous statements and actions.

The XXI century was full of wars on various grounds, during which were used a variety of methods. In describing these conflicts were created two terms: asymmetric warfare and Hybrid wars. The Author analyzed in paper circumstances of modern wars based on the revolution in military affairs or cultural background, which among others, wrote S. Huntington. The Author focused on presentation of two conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and on their based presented the theory of asymmetry and hybryd wars.

Traditionally, Byzantium is said to have adopted a guerrilla strategy along its eastern frontier after the seventh century as a means of dealing with the superior forces of the Muslims. A tenth-century military manual attributed to the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963 - 969) known as De Velitatione Bellica describes warfare in this manner, emphasizing tactics that minimize risk such as ambushes and indirect engagement. In its preface, the manual claims that since the danger of the Muslims has receded, the sort of tactics described within are no longer necessary but are nonetheless being recorded for posterity. This study examines this claim by looking at De Velitatione’s past and future by examining what evidence exists for the Byzantine-Muslim warfare taking place as the manual describes, and whether the text might have had any influence later. This is done through case studies of the eighth and eleventh centuries, which suggests that the tactics described in the manual have a long history in the Byzantine world and remained in use well after the manual claimed that they were antiquated.

"The response of the survivors of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah to forced population transfer and its multicultural context is a collection of religious texts promoting a homogeneous population with a strong kinship system and a vibrant and exclusive monoculture under monotheism. The biblical authors knew then, the way evolutionary biologists know now, that some cultures are more adaptive than others. They understood that they would have to adapt to the conditions imposed by the Assyrian conquest to survive. If they were to survive as a people, all their people would have to share the same adaptive behaviors. So they religiously outlawed maladaptive behaviors among their own people and removed less adaptive disciplines and the foreigners practicing them in the land they wished to reclaim. Throughout the Bible, the people of Israel and Judah are directed by God to religiously preserve their human family and religiously reject foreign rule, foreign gods, and the “multiculturalism” imposed upon the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians."

In 2024, Western civilization is awash in a flood of immigrants while the global media vilifies nations and peoples who resist the orchestrated invasions.

The prophetic nature of Niche Theory, Population Transfer and the Origin of the Anti-Semitic Cycle, published in 2007 (editor Kevin Lamb), is readily apparent.
Posted on academia.edu July 14, 2014

Venezuela’s relations with Iran date back into the sixties when both were founding members of the OPEC. Iran’s influence in Latin America has become quite large since the Iranian revolution. Iran sees Latin America as a strategic priority for its global positioning. The Lebanese immigration towards South America has begun a while ago. But there’s
a period, during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) when a large number of Lebanese immigrants came to the continent. Back then, according to some experts, Hezbollah and Iran  took  advantage of  this mass migration  and  infiltrated  their  agents  and  recruiters among the Muslim migrants. Hezbollah is probably the most organized terrorist organization in the World in respect to its illegal financing activities. The group funds its regular operations through all sorts of crimes. Hezbollah has a tight relationship with Iran. Ever since Iran has established its covert operations in Venezuela, Hezbollah has come along, as its proxy. Venezuela is submerged in crime and corruption. The Venezuelan government has been infiltrated by transnational organized crime for more than a decade. The convergence of corruption, crime, violence and terrorism in Venezuela was enabled by a set of conditions and circumstances that basically got entrenched after Chávez was
inaugurated as president in 1999. From that time onwards, Venezuela became a source of political, financial and logistical support for Hezbollah within Latin America. Their relationship impacts the neighboring countries, particularly Brazil.

This paper looks at the evolution of warfare. Furthermore, it tends to explain what hybrid warfare is. It also classifies hybrid warfare into two subtypes informing the reader about the actors in this type of warfare. It also guides on how to detect and counter hybrid warfare which is followed by a conclusion.

Keywords—evolution, hybrid    warfare, informs, detects, counter

The contemporary international security environment is characterized by the prevalence of military and non-military threats such as terrorism, 
roliferation of weapons of mass destruction, environmental disruptions, energy security threats, and human insecurity. Conflicts between state and non-state actors have become more frequent and a seemingly  inevitable phenomena in international affairs, as interstate conflicts have declined and de-escalated in number. While competition among global powers remains a part of the international system, sovereign states tend to concentrate more on the non-military aspects of power and security maximization. Therefore, modern warfare is more associated with a wide use of unconventional tactics, strategies and irregular attacks. In the modern era, conventional methods of warfare are generally  complemented with techniques of insurgency, terrorism, sabotage, subversion and information warfare ...

Terörle mücadele kapsamında ülkenin doğusundaki şehirleri üs haline getirmiş teröristlere kaşı harekât başlamıştır. Sivil halk ile birlikte aynı yerleşim yerinde bulunan teröristlere karşı mücadele riskler taşımaktadır. Sivil-terörist ayrımı oldukça zordur. Şehirde mahalle aralarında barikatlar kurarak bunları siper yapıp küçük gruplar halinde savunma noktaları yapan teröristler güvenlik güçlerini bazı durumlarda yavaşlatmıştır. Yolların altına döşedikleri " El Yapımı Patlayıcılar (EYP) " ile hareket halindeki araçlara ve operasyon düzenleyen güvenlik güçlerine karşı tehdit olmuşlardır. Sokak aralarında oluşturulan barikatlar teröristlerin mevzilendiği alanlardır. Bu mevziler operasyon hızını yavaşlattığı gibi ardındaki tehdidin ne ölçüde olduğu de belli değildir. Ele geçirilen mevziler ise yine teröristler tarafından yerleştirilen EYP ile tuzaklanmıştır. Bölgedeki operasyonlar oldukça zor şartlar altında icra edilmektedir. Barikatları aşmak için özel birlikler, tank ya da top ateşi kullanılmaktadır. Özel birliklerin, çoğu tuzaklanmış barikatları aşması için yaptıkları operasyonları kayıp vermelerine de neden oluyor. Terörle mücadele için yapılan operasyonlarda mahallelerdeki evler yıkılmıştır. Harabe gibi görünen alanlar, yıkılmış evler ya da terk edilmiş binalar teröristler için birer mevzi bölgeleridir. Yıkılmış evlere ve binalara saklanan teröristler hayatta kalmaya çalışmakta aynı zamanda savunma alanları oluşturmaya çalışmaktadır. Bu bölgelere yapılacak operasyonlarda kayıpların artması muhtemeldir. İcra edilen operasyonlarda kullanılan strateji operasyonların başarıya ulaşmasını sağlamaktadır ancak şehirlerin savaş alanı olması tehdidin çeşitlenmesine neden olmaktadır. Türkiye'nin doğusunda devam eden şehir savaşlarında ordu-polis işbirliği bölgenin teröristlerden temizlenmesini sağladı. Diğer şehirlerdeki meskûn mahal operasyonlar bitmesine rağmen terör yapılanmalarında kesin sonuçlar şu an için elde edilmiş değil. Nusaybin'de başlayan yoğun çatışmalar, güvenlik tedbirlerinin artmasını gerektirmektedir. Yaklaşık 2 gün önce Diyarbakır'da Jandarma Karakolu'na bomba yüklü araçla saldırı düzenlendi. Gerekli önlemlerin alınmasıyla bu tür saldırıların önüne geçilecektir. Şehir savaşlarında halk ve sivil iç içe olduğundan dolayı ilan dilen sokağa çıkma yasakları, sivil halkın terörden korunmasına

This paper examines relations between the United States and Pakistan in relation to the current War in Afghanistan. It examines the reasons for Pakistan's alarming and apparently incoherent behavior as a state. Finally, it demonstrates that Pakistan's cooperation is essential to any kind of success in Afghanistan and that the United States and NATO must therefore come to terms with this troubled ally.

Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction
Doctrine, Policy and Command

by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz

January 12, 2009

Iran’s nuclear ambitions and missile programs, and their interactions with its growing capabilities for asymmetric warfare, are becoming steadily more critical security issues for the US, Iran’s neighbors, and the international community. The foreign and domestic policy implications for the US will be a major issue that the next administration must address during its first months in office.

Iran’s actions, and the Iraq War, have already made major changes in the military balance in the Gulf and the Middle East. Iran may still be several years to half a decade away from becoming a meaningful nuclear power, but even a potential Iranian nuclear weapon has already led Iran’s neighbors, the US, and Israel to focus on the nuclear threat it can pose and its long-range missile programs.

The Burke Chair has prepared a new set of briefs, prepared by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz, which summarize Iran’s actions, current and potential capabilities, and the possible outcome of a nuclear exchange. This briefing draws on official statements, US intelligence judgments, work by the IAEA, and material provided by a number of other research centers, including the Nuclear Threat Initiative, ISIS, the Federation of American Scientists, Global Security, and the Brooking Institution among others.

The Burke Chair is releasing these documents in a series of working drafts in an effort to obtain outside views, comments, criticisms, and additions. We hope to use such comments to provide a more comprehensive and more accurate picture of Iran’s controversial and destabilizing WMD programs despite the uncertainty surrounding these foreign policy nightmares.

Iran presents many challenges in analyzing its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction. One is that a nation that denies it is acquiring such weapons does not have a public strategy or doctrine for using them, much less clear plans to acquire them. The second is that Iran has an extremely complex national command authority, where many key elements virtually bypass its president – as well as other national decision-making apparatuses – and report to its Supreme Leader. It also seems to place its missile systems, and much of its military industry under its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and it is this force that seems to be responsible for the development and control of any programs to develop, manufacture, and deploy weapons of mass destruction. Making this situation all the more complex and volatile is the growing influence of the IRGC – especial hard-line members – in the Iranian political arena.

Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction:
Capabilities, Developments and Strategic Uncertainties

by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz

October 14, 2008

The Burke Chair has prepared a new set of briefs, prepared by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz, which summarize Iran’s actions, current and potential capabilities, and the possible outcome of a nuclear exchange. This briefing draws on official statements, US intelligence judgments, work by the IAEA, and material provided by a number of other research centers, including the Nuclear Threat Initiative, ISIS, the Federation of American Scientists, Global Security, and the Brooking Institution among others.

The Burke Chair is releasing these documents in a series of working drafts in an effort to obtain outside views, comments, criticisms, and additions. We hope to use such comments to provide a more comprehensive and more accurate picture of Iran’s controversial and destabilizing WMD programs despite the uncertainty surrounding these foreign policy nightmares.

This first working draft in the series is available on the CSIS web site at:
http://www.csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/081015_iran.wmd.pdf
It covers the capabilities and uncertainties of Iran’s missile program, as well as other possible means of deliver that Iran could utilize in conjunction with its CBRN programs.

Definido tras la guerra de verano de 2006 entre Israel y Hezbollah y empleado para explicar las tácticas empleadas por los Talibán, la oposición siria, el Estado Islámico en Iraq o Rusia en Ucrania, el conflicto híbrido ha adquirido una gran popularidad para definir las " nuevas guerras " del siglo XXI. Concebida para advertir de un nuevo tipo de conflicto que combina el empleo de medios irregulares y convencionales limitados, esta idea está recibiendo una gran atención a pesar de las controversias que genera. Este documento de opinión presenta el concepto de guerra híbrida, estudia su configuración teórica, identifica sus características fundamentales y evalúa su utilidad práctica. Abstract: Defined after the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah and currently used for explaining the tactics used by the Taliban, the Syirian opposition, the Islamic State in Iraq or the Russian forces in Ukraine, the concept of hybrid conflict has acquired a significan degree of popularity for defining the " new wars " of the 21 st Century. Aimed at defining a type of conflict that combines the use of irregular and conventional, albeit limited, ways of fighting, this idea is receiving a significant amount of attention despite the controversies it produces. This document is aimed at defining the concept, studying its theoretical development, identifying its fundamental characteristics and evaluating its real effectiveness.

Kavramın kuramsal araştırmacılarına göre stratejik kültür, ülkelerin güvenlik temalı strateji oluşturmadaki karar alma süreçlerine etki eden, duygu, düşünce ve davranış kalıplarının toplamı olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu tezde, ilk olarak stratejik kültür kavramının teorik içeriğinden bahsedildikten sonra, İsrail stratejik kültürünün, jeostrateji, tarih, din ve kamoyunun algı mercekleri üzerinden tanımlanan kaynakları ve kaynakları ile doğrudan ilişkili  olan karakteristik davranış kalıpları belirlenmiştir. İkinci olarak ise İsrail stratejik kültüründeki karakteristik davranış kalıplarının, başta kabine, başbakanlık, savunma bakanlığı, genelkurmay başkanlığı, askeri istihbarat başkanlığı, dışişleri bakanlığı ve ilgili diğer kurumlar olmak üzere İsrailli karar alıcıların ilgili dönemlerin kendi bağlamları  içerisinde, Hizbullah ile mücadele temalı güvenlik stratejileri oluşturmadaki karar alma  süreçlerine nasıl etki ettiği tartışılmaktadır. Araştırma, Hizbullah’ın kuruluşundan itibaren,  İsrail’in Lübnan’a düzenlediği askerî harekâtları içermekte ve son olarak 2006 yılındaki stratejik başarısızlığının nedenlerini stratejik kültür üzerinden sorgulamaktadır. Bununla  birlikte, İkinci Lübnan Savaşı ve bilhassa Hizbullah unsurlarının önemli bir bölümünün Suriye’ye kayması sonucunu doğuran Suriye İç Savaşı’ndan sonra bölgede uzun bir süredir  taraflararası, göreceli bir sessizlik hakim olmuştur.

In the post-9/11 era, the label " asymmetric wars " has often been used to question the relevance of certain aspects of international humanitarian law (IHL); to push for redefining the combatant/civilian distinction; and to try to reverse accepted norms such as the bans on torture and assassination. In this piece, we focused on legal and policy discussions in the United States and Israel because they better illustrate the dynamics of State-led " norm entrepreneurship " , or the attempt to propose opposing or modified norms as a revision of IHL. We argue that although these developments are to be taken seriously, they have not weakened the normative power of IHL or made it passé. On the contrary, they have made it more relevant than ever. IHL is not just a complex (and increasingly sophisticated) branch of law detached from reality. Rather, it is the embodiment of widely shared principles of morality and ethics, and stands as a normative " guardian " against processes of moral disengagement that make torture and the acceptance of civilian deaths more palatable.

Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction
Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program: Work in Progress?

by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz

November 6, 2008

The Burke Chair has prepared a new set of briefs, prepared by Anthony H. Cordesman and Adam C. Seitz, which summarize Iran’s actions, current and potential capabilities, and the possible outcome of a nuclear exchange. This briefing draws on official statements, US intelligence judgments, work by the IAEA, and material provided by a number of other research centers, including the Nuclear Threat Initiative, ISIS, the Federation of American Scientists, Global Security, and the Brooking Institution among others.

The Burke Chair is releasing these documents in a series of working drafts in an effort to obtain outside views, comments, criticisms, and additions. We hope to use such comments to provide a more comprehensive and more accurate picture of Iran’s controversial and destabilizing WMD programs despite the uncertainty surrounding these foreign policy nightmares.

The fourth working draft in this series is available on the CSIS web site at:
http://www.csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/081106_iranwmdnuclear.pdf
This draft covers multiple aspects of Iran’s nuclear programs, including an assessment of Iran’s current nuclear status and possible future nuclear capabilities. In this draft is a history of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the progress in the different sectors of Iran’s nuclear programs, the declared and possible functions of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and issues posed by Iranian ambiguity regarding its nuclear program, among other aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.

Contemporary civil conflicts are increasingly inter- and trans-nationalized: dis- tinctive conflict dynamics extend beyond the boundaries of the respective states and are exposed to foreign involvement, in different forms. Within this trend stands the often mentioned but yet to be fully grasped role of non-state actors, referred to as, among others, proxies, mercenaries, militias (pro- government or not), or insurgents. The article revises the debate on sponsor- proxy relations from a twofold standpoint. First, it connects sponsor-proxy dynamics with current systemic changes by treating the MENA region as an example of a decentered multipolar system. Second, it examines sponsor-proxy dynamics by engaging in a conversation with scholarship on (armed) non-state actors. To do so, the article applies the sponsor-proxy analytical framework to the case studies of the relationship between Iran and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, and between Turkey and the Syrian National Army (SNA) in Syria. The main argument is that the two cases show a peculiar pattern of sponsor-proxy dynamics, one that is influenced by proxy plurality and competi- tiveness, on the one hand, and by the political relevance of proxies besides their military role.

The term 'asymmetric threats' functions, although under slightly different meanings, in contemporary strategic, international and political studies, and defines some phenomena which are characteristic of the world in the 21st century. Anyone who wants to find contemporary phenomena in previous epochs has to be aware of a great risk. Using simple analogies is even more dangerous, because it is easy to compare the incomparable. Conscious of the danger, the author decided to take up the topic. The longer he investigated, the more convinced he was that such a contemporary phenomenon as 'asymmetric threats' could be – obviously mutatis mutandis – not only applicable to the reality of the 5th century Western Roman Empire, but also recognized as one of the factors of the collapse of the state. In the presented paper, he demonstrates his argumentation and proposes an answer to the question if one can observe 'asymmetric threats' in Late Antiquity and if so, which of them were the most dangerous for the state, how they influenced the functioning of the Empire and how Romans tried to confront them.

Although Hybrid Warfare is an old concept, theoretical studies in the western countries mainly began in the post-Col War era, focusing on asymmetrical threats against conventional superiority of western countries such as USA or Israel. September 11th attacks and 2006 Israel-Lebanon war played important roles for the evolution of hybrid warfare theories. However, there has not any consensus among scholars on a exact or unique definition of hybrid warfare. Hybrid warfare became one of the main security issues for the West and especially for NATO after the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Russian military strategies, called " hybrid warfare " by the western countries , resulted in the successful annexation of Crimea and, caused a serious security problem for the West resulting important structural and functional changes for the military system of NATO. Russian activities, which have been based on surprise, ambiguity and deniability, presented a unique example for hybrid warfare studies.


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Karma Savaş eski bir konsept olsa da batılı devletlerde bu konuya yönelik teorik çalışmalar esas olarak Soğuk Savaş sonrasında ABD ya da İsrail gibi Batılı devletlerin konvansiyonel üstünlüğüne yönelik asimetrik tehditleri esas alarak başlamıştır. 11 Eylül saldırıları ve 2006 İsrail-Hizbullah savaşı karma savaş teorilerinin gelişiminde önemli rol oynamıştır. Bununla birlikte akademisyenler arasında karma savaşın tanımı konusunda bir uzlaşma sağlanamamıştır. Rusya-Ukrayna krizinin başlamasından sonra karma savaş batılı devletler özellikle de NATO için en önemli güvenlik sorunlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Batılı devletler tarafından " karma sa-vaş " olara nitelendirilen Rus askeri stratejileri Kırım'ın başarılı bir şekilde ilhakı ile sonuçlanmış ve NATO'nun askeri sisteminde önemli yapısal ve işlevsel değişimlere yol açacak şekilde batılı devletler için çok önemli bir güvenlik sorunu ortaya çıkarmıştır. Sürpriz, belirsizlik ve inkara dayalı Rus askeri faaliyetleri karma savaş açısından emsalsiz bir örnek teşkil etmiştir.

An Israeli military strategy of asymmetric warfare named after Beirut's southern suburbs-the target of Israel's aerial bombardment during the Second Lebanon War of 2006. The originators announced the doctrine in a series of press inter views in 2008, and Israeli military strategists subsequently published analytical studies. The doctrine responds to the new and complex demands oflsrael's asym metric engagements with Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south. Both groups share a strategic conception that attacks on Israel's civilian rear can offset the Israel Defense Forces's (IDF) military superiority and achieve political suc cess. Operationally, they use high-trajectory missiles capable of targeting Israeli civilian settlements. In response, Israeli strategists advocate a military doctrine intent on inflict ing severe damage on their opponent's infrastructure and civilian centers to achieve deterrence and avoid getting dragged into wars of attrition. The origi nators, Major General Gadi Eizenkot, chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces since 2015, and Colonel (Ret.) Gabriel Siboni, now serving as the director of an important Israeli military think tank, argue that Israel must respond to enemy hostilities immediately, decisively, and with disproportionate force. By setting a painful and memorable precedent, quick military operations serve to shorten and intensify the period of fighting and lengthen periods of calm between rounds of fighting. Israel's explicit goals include increasing the cost of postwar recovery for the states and civilian populations that support and finance attacks on Israel. Israel's archenemies consider postwar recovery imper ative and integral to any victory. They mobilize their financial and noncombat resources for large-scale reconstruction efforts aimed at the rapid alleviation of civilian suffering. Since its inception, the Dahiya Doctrine has guided IDF military operations in Gaza in 2008, 2012, and 2014. In each of these wars, human rights groups and international organizations widely criticized Israel for its disproportionate use of force and for the scale of the devastation inflicted. For critics of the Dahiya Doc trine, this intention to inflict immense destruction, explicitly not distinguishing between civilian and military targets and the purposefully high damage inflicted on civilian property and infrastructure, constitute a breach of international con ventions and laws of war, especially of the principle of proportionality. Proponents of the Dahiya Doctrine justify its use in asymmetric engagements with enemies fighting out of uniform. They contend that the international community should revisit the laws of war in an era of nonstate actors and transnational terrorism.

From the Boer War, through Palestine and post WWII experiences, this paper evaluates the development of COIN doctrine over the past century. Focussing on FM 3-24, which, in the wake of Iraq and Afghanistan, sets out the current US Army view on this challenging area of military operations.

Abstrakt: Aby określić miejsce Iranu w regionie, należy poddać analizie irańską politykę bezpieczeństwa, która opiera się na zdolnościach asymetrycznych, rekompensujących konwencjonalne niedostatki. Iran niezmiennie stara się osiągnąć status głównego mocarstwa w regionie, przez co władze zmuszone są kreować niezwykle skomplikowaną, wielowymiarową strategię bezpieczeństwa, co odzwierciedla się w irańskiej doktrynie militarnej. Głównym sposobem na osiągnięcie końcowego celu – zbalansowania regionalnej nierównowagi sił oraz stania się bliskowschodnią potęgą, mogącą w realny sposób oddziaływać na sprawy globalne – jest wykorzystywanie działań asymetrycznych. Artykuł ma na celu przybliżenie asymetrycznych założeń irańskiej strategii militarnej, jej ewolucji i adaptacji do zmieniającej się sytuacji międzynarodowej, a także możliwości jej modyfikacji w obliczu konfliktów i kryzysów, na przykładzie zagrożenia generowanego przez Państwo Islamskie.
Abstract: To define the place of Iran in the region, we need to understand the Iranian security policy, which relies on asymmetric capabilities, to compensate the conventional deficiency. Iran invariably seeks to achieve the status of the main powers in the region, so the authorities are forced to create extremely complex, multi-dimensional security strategy, which is reflected in the Iranian military doctrine. The main way to achieve the final goal – the stabilization of the regional imbalance of power and become a Middle East power, capable of affecting global issues – is the use of asymmetrical activities. Article aims to explain the asymmetrical principles of the Iranian military strategy, its evolution and adaptation to changing international situation over the years and the possibility of its modification in the face of conflicts and crises, for example, the threat generated by the Islamic State. Wstęp Różnice w potencjale pomiędzy oponentami istniały zawsze, choć nie koniecznie zawsze odzwierciedlały się w samym wyniku konfliktu. Obecnie asymetria na poziomie strategicznym, jest równie istotna, bowiem odzwierciedla się w takim wykorzystywaniu różnic, które zwiększa przewagę nad przeciwnikiem. Odnosząc asymetrię do działań militarnych, należy stwierdzić, że wiąże się ona z przyjętą strategią.

Over the past decade and a half, North America has seen a rash of environmentally motivated arsons. One group in particular, the clandestine Earth Liberation Front (ELF), has targeted ski resorts, genetic research labs, SUV dealerships, and forestry buildings, leading James Jarboe of the FBI to declare the ELF the “number one” domestic terrorist threat facing the USA. This article analyses the social construction of the “ecoterrorist threat” in the pages of the New York Times. Various stakeholders—including ELF spokespersons, moderate environmentalists, corporate interests, and state agencies—have sought to influence the way that media covers the ELF. Ultimately, much to the chagrin of ELF spokespersons, discourses of ecoterrorism have normalized in mainstream media, which regularly frames the spokespersons and activists as “dangerous clowns.” In turn, this coverage has prevented the expression of the ELF’s ideology, foreclosing the potential for the mainstream media to represent as legitimate the concerns of the ELF. I argue that blame for this failure rests in part with certain implications of the ELF’s organizational strategy of “leaderless resistance,” which—unlike civil disobedience movements of the past—is predicated on having its actors remain unsympathetically faceless and nameless.

Known alternatively as "narco-tanks" (narcotanques), "Rhino trucks," and "monster trucks"(monstruos), the crude armored vehicles emerging in Mexico's cartel war are evidence of a changing tactical logic on the ground. "Narco-tanks" are better characterized as improvised armored fighting vehicles (IAFVs)—portending a shift in the infantry-centric nature of the cartel battlespace.

Narco-tactics have been, for the most part, infantry-centric—consisting of small raids, blockades, and gun battles. The use of armored sport utility vehicles for transportation, raids, and tactical in-battle maneuver is largely an extension of the small unit infantry operations that characterize the tactical logic of the cartel war. The presence of armored vehicles ups the ante.

Although Hybrid Warfare is an old concept, theoretical studies in the western countries mainly began in the post-Col War era, focusing on asymmetrical threats against conventional superiority of western countries such as USA or Israel. September 11th attacks and 2006 Israel-Lebanon war played important roles for the evolution of hybrid warfare theories. However, there has not any consensus among scholars on a exact or unique definition of hybrid warfare. Hybrid warfare became one of the main security issues for the West and especially for NATO after the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Russian military strategies, called "hybrid warfare" by the western countries, resulted in the successful annexation of Crimea and, caused a serious security problem for the West resulting important structural and functional changes for the military system of NATO. Russian activities, which have been based on surprise, ambiguity and deniability, presented a unique example for hybrid warfare studies.

The maritime domain bears vital economic interests of a country. However, a predominant part of the oceans is not subject to national sovereignty, which makes it much easier for a hybrid threat to manifest. For instance, during an armed conflict, an adversary would usually attempt to disrupt India’s strategic crude oil imports. The adversary could easily circumvent the conventional practice  by employing a terrorist group to lay crude mines in maritime choke-points, where from much of India’s oil imports transit....