The Matter of Low-Intensity Conflicts
Conflicts occur every day, whether they are personal, or on a larger scale such as gang violence, civil conflicts within a country, or the protecting of an allied force. The term 'war' has become more of a general term for all of these conflicts, and thus it is now hard to define a total war from a low-intensity conflict (LIC). After WWII, there emerged new terminology when discussing conflicts, and defining wars versus considering the issue to be an LIC. Often there is still question about whether or a not a conflict is a war or an LIC. For example, Darfur is an obvious conflict, but because its lethal violence is low, compared to say, the Vietnam War, it is only considered an LIC. " ..around 130-150 people were dying each month due to violence in Darfur... 'The situation has changed from the period of intense hostilities in 2003-2004 when tens of thousands of people were killed,' Adada told the 15-member council. 'Today, in purely numerical terms it is a low-intensity conflict.' (Reuters)" Whereas in the Vietnam war, tens of thousands of military personnel died, not to mention the millions of Vietnamese citizens that also died. Yet, there is no numerical threshold with which to define an LIC (United States of America).
After WWII, Low-Intensity Conflicts occurred more often. With the United States as the undoubtedly strongest world power and the introduction of nuclear warfare, the terminology of large-scale conflicts and disputes changed. In the post-war era, many conflicts that arose could not be called war because of their significant difference from previous violent conflicts. Factors that contribute to determining whether a conflict is an LIC or not are the countries or groups involved in the conflict, how many people are involved (both directly and indirectly), how much violence occurs, what weapons are being used, and most importantly the interests of both sides involved in the conflict (Bjelica).
According to the US Department of Defense, a Low-Intensity Conflict is defined as:
Political-military confrontation between contending states or groups below conventional war and above the routine, peaceful competition among states. It frequently involves protracted struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low intensity conflict ranges from subversion to the use of armed force. It is waged by a combination of means employing political, economic, informational, and military instruments. Low intensity conflicts are often localized, generally in the Third World, but contain regional and global security implications, also known as: LIC (United States of America).
LIC's often arise from the same issues that cause wars; civil disputes over rights, territorial disputes, disputes over political or economical gains, etc. If an LIC is technically considered a low-intensity conflict, then couldn't they be controlled, and even stopped more quickly? Yet issues like Darfur are continuing, and thousands of lives are still being lost.
Although it is not necessary to define every conflict that arises as a war, some LIC's should probably be considered wars because of their devastating impacts, or at least the definition of an LIC should be more defined. This world today is involved in more conflicts than can be counted, controlled, or properly defined and recorded. And because we cannot specifically define these conflicts, we are losing lives that could otherwise be saved.
Bibliography:
Conflicts occur every day, whether they are personal, or on a larger scale such as gang violence, civil conflicts within a country, or the protecting of an allied force. The term 'war' has become more of a general term for all of these conflicts, and thus it is now hard to define a total war from a low-intensity conflict (LIC). After WWII, there emerged new terminology when discussing conflicts, and defining wars versus considering the issue to be an LIC. Often there is still question about whether or a not a conflict is a war or an LIC. For example, Darfur is an obvious conflict, but because its lethal violence is low, compared to say, the Vietnam War, it is only considered an LIC. " ..around 130-150 people were dying each month due to violence in Darfur... 'The situation has changed from the period of intense hostilities in 2003-2004 when tens of thousands of people were killed,' Adada told the 15-member council. 'Today, in purely numerical terms it is a low-intensity conflict.' (Reuters)" Whereas in the Vietnam war, tens of thousands of military personnel died, not to mention the millions of Vietnamese citizens that also died. Yet, there is no numerical threshold with which to define an LIC (United States of America).
After WWII, Low-Intensity Conflicts occurred more often. With the United States as the undoubtedly strongest world power and the introduction of nuclear warfare, the terminology of large-scale conflicts and disputes changed. In the post-war era, many conflicts that arose could not be called war because of their significant difference from previous violent conflicts. Factors that contribute to determining whether a conflict is an LIC or not are the countries or groups involved in the conflict, how many people are involved (both directly and indirectly), how much violence occurs, what weapons are being used, and most importantly the interests of both sides involved in the conflict (Bjelica).
According to the US Department of Defense, a Low-Intensity Conflict is defined as:
Political-military confrontation between contending states or groups below conventional war and above the routine, peaceful competition among states. It frequently involves protracted struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low intensity conflict ranges from subversion to the use of armed force. It is waged by a combination of means employing political, economic, informational, and military instruments. Low intensity conflicts are often localized, generally in the Third World, but contain regional and global security implications, also known as: LIC (United States of America).
LIC's often arise from the same issues that cause wars; civil disputes over rights, territorial disputes, disputes over political or economical gains, etc. If an LIC is technically considered a low-intensity conflict, then couldn't they be controlled, and even stopped more quickly? Yet issues like Darfur are continuing, and thousands of lives are still being lost.
Although it is not necessary to define every conflict that arises as a war, some LIC's should probably be considered wars because of their devastating impacts, or at least the definition of an LIC should be more defined. This world today is involved in more conflicts than can be counted, controlled, or properly defined and recorded. And because we cannot specifically define these conflicts, we are losing lives that could otherwise be saved.
Bibliography:
Bjelica, Thomas. LOW INTENSITY CONFLICT: THE UNITED STATES AND THE FUTURE. Rep. GlobalSecurity.org, 1990. Web. 08 Sept. 2009. .
"Low intensity conflict." Low intensity conflict. US Military @ About.com. Web. 08 Sept. 2009.
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United States of America. Department of Defense. Army. U.S. Army Field Manual, Military Operations in Low-Intensity Conflict, FM100-20. 1990. GlobalSecurity.org. Web. 08 Sept. 2009. .
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