Low Intensity Warfare

by Michael T. Klare

Book Overview

The first book to take on the hottest military/foreign policy issue of the post-Irangate eighties--low-intensity warfare. The issues in this book, as Irangate shows, will be the key to any foreign policy/defense debate in 1988.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394746538
• ISBN13: 9780394746531
• Release Date: December 1987
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Where are the congressional reviews and oversights for LIC?

Low Intensity Warfare covers the historical conflicts of El Salvador, Nicarguia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. Ronald Reagan was the primary supporter of LIC giving him capablity and power to fight communism. Reagan directive was to contain communism and disprove Breshnev's claim that once communism was establish that it could not be uprooted. The threat of communism in third world countries could not be ignored. The failure of Vietnam could not go unchallenged. LIC provided a way to fight communism. Furthermore, all third world conflicts involving the U.S centered on containment or the eradication of communism from the territory. Media exposure of direct LIC involvement in the country was the first cardinal rule not to break. Secondly, military training and advisement demonstrated support for nations sharing national interest to winning against our enemies. Third, LIC present helped form the political, social, and economic infrastructure of unstable nations. LIC was marketed as military aid and training for nations that were of national interest. Friendly nations were not suppose to be effected by LIC engagments, however, the global connected nature of nation economies left very few friendly nations uneffected by lethal engagment. The LIC design was to wage warefare without Congressional approval. Secrecy was the goal and it was not secret to the targeted nations but it was secret for the political advocates who provided funding for LIC operations. Hundreds of millions of dollars were funneled into LIC. The method employeed were designed too effect the political, economic, and social structure by "winning the hearts and minds" of the people. Statements like "that is war" blanked the issues and attrocities of LIC engagements. LIC engagements were design to strike fast, be invisible to the world censorship, and shift power balances and alignment. So the government trained men on how to win the hearts and minds of the people giving them a edge to secular influence third world governments. The effect of this objective secularism did not work correctly. Instead these men gained power over these small countries and ruled repressively. These men used unethical means to gain power and ruled as dictators and replacing a repressive government with and more repressive government dictator. The U.S. government realized the program did not work, so they retracted the training and changed the plan to insurgence. One is left to wonder how Congress did not hear about each LIC mission and result. Congress did not have oversight committees to monitor LIC activities. Should Congress be increased in size to manage all the insurgency operations through out the world? Accountablity should not go unmonitored by congress. Congressmen should be debating the ethical and national interest served by LIC operations and cancel any operation not meeting these guidelines. Any constitutional or civil liberty violated by LIC operations should be