Study how the Enemy Trains
and You'll Know What to Expect:
_Urban Combat The Petraeus Way_

Written by Donald J. Mihalek.

General’s eight-point strategy for crime
counterinsurgency applied to US streets!

With violent crime increasing in many American cities,
it is easy to think of criminals as an “insurgency.” According
to the freedictionary.com an “insurgency” is defined as,
 “An organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a
constituted government through use of subversion and
armed conflict.”

The recent shootings of uniformed police officers in
Philadelphia and Oakland highlight these attacks on
governmental authority. This growing insurgent behavior
 includes shootings of civilians, a growing trend of gang
violence and an increase in narcotics related kidnapping.
The trends point to the need for a renewed strategy to
fight violent crime.

General David Petraeus formed a counterinsurgency
plan to deal with the situation in Iraq. The general’s
strategy was targeted to root out the insurgents and
undermine the insurgency. Dave Dilegge’s article on
military.com outlined the General’s eight-point strategy.
 

Legitimacy Is The Main Objective
“The government needs to provide security, act in a
 fair manner and all persons/groups need to be included
in the process.” This is about integrity. The civilian
 government needs to keep the people safe because
 nothing else matters. It is the most basic premise of
 good government, and safety is the most basic need
of people. Treating people fairly is a cardinal rule and
having moral authority enhances law enforcement
legitimacy. If undermined by alleged bad conduct, the
 citizens may revolt. Fairness, integrity and honesty
are powerful tools. In the public’s mind, lacking these
elements reduces law enforcement to a bunch of
brigands with power and guns. Iraq is a perfect
example of these principles in use. You want to
accomplish the big “buy in” of law enforcement
by the public.

Unity Of Effort Is Essential
“Well-intentioned but uncoordinated actions can
cancel each other out and/or provide vulnerabilities
suited to be exploited by adversaries.” Former
Mayor Rudy Giuliani once said, “Law enforcement
 needs to be as organized as organized crime.” Too
 often agency turf wars, bias, or lack of
communication result in agencies working against
 each other.

Every agency (local, state and federal) bring different
 resources, talents, skills and abilities to the table.
Failure to take advantage of these “tools” misses t
he point that law enforcement is a team effort.
Cooperation and coordination opens different avenues
 into combating a persistent crime problem.
Leveraging of each agency’s resources and a
“task force” style approach often leads to success.

In Iraq, the military had used “Task Forces” to
coordinate all operational elements and it has
worked.

Political Factors Are Primary
“One rule of thumb in counterinsurgency (COIN)
is 80 percent political action and 20 percent military
action. All military and non-military actions should
contribute to strengthen the national government’s
legitimacy.” Law enforcement agencies deal with
all problems but can’t solve all problems. Law
enforcement can fight crime but other governmental
entities also need to perform especially lawmakers,
social services and courts.
 

For lawmakers, The Patriot Act is a perfect
example. Until this Act, law enforcement was still
using 20th century tools to fight 21st century
crimes. Aspects of this act gave law enforcement
21st Century tools. FBI Director Mueller testified
to the Senate that, “In the past, authorities had to
seek court approval for each electronic device
carried by a suspect, from a cell phone and a
smart phone to a home computer. But under the
Patriot Act roving wiretap provision, one warrant
can cover all of those machines.”

In Oakland, the police confronted a felon who was
 violent and on parole. He was suspected of
physically and sexually abusing young girls. This
criminal’s entire life revolved around crime and he
should have stayed in prison. All facets of social
services and the courts failed to address this
criminal’s issues culminating in wanton injuries to
countless civilians, including children, and the
murder of four police officers.

In Iraq, the military teamed with its Iraqi
counterparts to put an Iraqi “face” on security,
which helped establish Iraqi governmental legitimacy.

Counterinsurgents Must Understand The Environment
“This is much more than traditional enemy order of
 battle information. Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
COIN requires a thorough understanding of Iraqi
society and culture. Unfortunately, the insurgents hold
a home-field advantage in regards to local knowledge.
Therefore, to be effective, Coalition forces and other
agencies require expertise in such skills as language
and cultural understanding.”

Know your beat. The cops “on the beat” often have
the pulse of the area. They know who belongs and
who doesn’t. They know the criminals, troublemakers
 and good people. They know the mood of a
neighborhood and what the people are concerned
about. Local beat cops can become a wealth of
information.

Sometimes cops get “trapped” in the police car or
develop the “us versus them” mentality. This
serves as a blockade to information and
relationships that could make the job easier. In life,
 most things are about relationships. If you develop
positive ones, they often reap rewards when you
 least expect it.

Law enforcement presence establishes
“staying power.” In Iraq, establishing these
relationships equaled success.
 

Intelligence Drives Operations
“Without good intelligence counterinsurgents are
blind, wasting energy and often causing unintentional
harm while conducting COIN operations. With
good intelligence they are like surgeons cutting out
 cancerous tissue while keeping other vital organs
 intact.” Information is power. The more information
 law enforcement has, the easier it is to fight crime,
find criminals and close cases.

The NYPD’s creation of COMPSTAT
(computerized statistics) proved how good
information helps a law enforcement agency be
more effective. In Walt Schick’s article
COMSTAT in the Los Angeles Police Department,
“Timely and accurate information and intelligence
 are absolutely essential in effectively responding
 to any problem or crisis.”

In Iraq and New York City, increased intelligence
 helped focus resources on high crime (insurgent)
 clusters. One thing to remember, traditional
criminals and radicals run in similar circles. Recent
FBI terrorism investigations were successful
because a “radical” reached out to someone they
thought was a “criminal” who turned out to be
an informant.  Using information is a proven
method to target and fight crime or insurgents.

Insurgents Must Be Isolated
“It is easier to separate an insurgency from its
resources and let it die than to kill every insurgent.
 While killing or capturing insurgents is often
necessary, especially when based in religious or
ideological extremism, killing or capturing every
insurgent is impossible and can be counterproductive.
 Insurgents must be cut off from their sources of
 power, and the key source is the civilian population.”

Law enforcement will never be able to arrest
every criminal or prevent all crime. If law
enforcement put every criminal in jail, crime
would still occur. Individual needs often lead to
 crime. To succeed, criminals need someone or
something to prey on. Reducing that opportunity
 reduces crime.

The regular presence of law enforcement, civilians
becoming hardened targets and the aggressive
enforcement of violations coupled with vigorous
prosecution diminishes crime. Ultimately, putting
 violent criminals in jail and keeping them there
removes the problem.

Security Under The Rule Of Law Is Essential
“The COIN cornerstone is security for the civilian
 population. Without that security no permanent
reforms can be implemented and disorder spreads.
 The local population must see insurgents as
criminals. In OIF Iraqi law enforcement
organizations must be seen as legitimate and
operating under the Rule of Law”.

Edward D. Reuss stated that “We must feel
safe in order to progress to the higher social needs
 that allow us to create a real community. All
social needs are built upon the foundation of the
 fulfillment of these basic needs and the need for
 security.” Continuing the status quo or sitting idly
by are not the tactics for successful crime fighting.

Law enforcement must win the “criminal is
misunderstood” argument. We often see criminals
popularized and law enforcement portrayed as the
“bad guys.” Mumia Abu-Jamal is the court
proven killer of Philadelphia cop Daniel Faulkner.
According to his website, he has celebrity appeal
and support. In Iraq some insurgent groups had
popular support. Law enforcement must do a better
job of controlling the “story” and winning this
 argument.

In the publics view, law enforcement should always
 strive to be beyond reproach. To do this, honesty,
integrity and credibility add legitimacy to
law enforcement.

Counterinsurgents Should Prepare For
Long-Term Commitment
“Insurgencies are protracted by nature. Constant
reaffirmations of commitment, backed by deeds,
can overcome a common perception that US
COIN forces lack staying power. The perception
 that the national government has similar will and
 stamina is critical. At the strategic level, gaining
and maintaining US public support for a protracted
 effort is also critical.”

Crime will never completely go away. Criminals
 become more brazen if they feel law
enforcement is weak, ineffective, timid or
unsupported. If law enforcement enforces
aggressively and then walks away, the criminals
will move back in.

As proven in Iraq, staying power pays dividends.
The constant presence of law enforcement and an
 aggressive posture sends the message to the
criminals to “beware.” Instead of the public fearing
 criminals, the criminals fear law enforcement and
 this fear can be a great deterrent. In New York
City and now in Iraq, the “broken windows” theory,
 “attacking the small problems will reduce the
big ones,” works.
 

No strategy is perfect and this one will require an
 investment of time, energy, commitment and
manpower on the part of leaders, agencies and the
public. General Petraeus proved that this strategy
can work. It shows an understanding of people,
neighborhoods, intelligence and force presence.
It was adopted for a combat zone and successful.
With strong leadership, willpower, and determination
 this strategy could help reduce crime in our most
violent areas.

Former New York City Police Commissioner
William Bratton displayed his leadership and
 expressed his vision: “We will fight for every
house in this city. We will fight for every street.
 We will fight for every borough. And we will win.”

JEFFERSON STATE MILITIA INDEX PAGE

Unless otherwise noted, all materials contained in
     this Site are copyrighted and may not be used except
      as provided in these terms and conditions or in the
         copyright notice or other proprietary notice
             provided with the relevant material.

This Web Site is owned & operated totally by independent proprietorship and

 all content material is the responsibility of the

author or entity of fact.

This Web Page last updated: 18-Jan-2010 12:42 PM -0700

WEB Page Created by James Mark Enterprises. ® Shasta Lake, California

Home