Center for Security Studies

The ‘Talibanization’ of Insurgency

The ‘Talibanization’ of Insurgency

Author(s): Prem Mahadevan
Editor(s): Oliver Thränert, Martin Zapfe
Series Editor(s): Andreas Wenger
Book Title: Strategic Trends 2014: Key Developments in Global Affairs
Series: Strategic Trends
Pages: 49-64
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zürich
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Place: Zurich

As Western troops continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the stage is being set for the emulation of Taliban insurgent tactics elsewhere. Having tested the limits of Western military power, radical Islamists are encouraged by the proposition that persistent subversion, coupled with steady attrition through direct and indirect combat - the latter primarily involving improvised explosive devices - shall exhaust the West into strategic retreat. Although no insurgent group has the capacity to prevent the entry of Western forces into a combat theatre, denying such forces the tactical ability to operate freely shall grow easier.

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