The Current Israel-Hamas Crisis: Irregular Warfare in the 21st Century

• Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent the views of either the US Marine Corps, US Army, Department of Defense, the Irregular Warfare Center, or any other governmental agency.

This is a second in a series of articles “Why Study Irregular Warfare During an Era Of Great Power Competition?

“The nature of war doesn’t change, but the character of war does, and our command and control construct needs to keep pace to the character of war,” Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford said. Dunford: Command, Control Must 'Keep Pace' in 21st Century on Jan. 4, 2016 | By Jim Garamone , DOD News

"The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World is a treatise on modern warfare written by General Sir Rupert Smith and published in 2005. ?In the final third of the book, Smith uses six themes to describe the new paradigm of war:

·?????? The ends for which we fight are changing from the hard objectives that decide a political outcome to those of establishing conditions in which the outcome may be decided

·?????? “We fight amongst the people, not on the battlefield”

·?????? Our conflicts tend to be timeless, even unending

·?????? We fight so as to preserve the force rather than risking all to gain the objective

·?????? On each occasion new uses are found for old weapons and organizations which are the products of industrial war.

·?????? The sides are mostly non-state, comprising some form of multinational grouping against some non-state party or parties.

This is a departure from traditional Concepts of the Use of Force in Strategy throughout millennia: Extermination, Annihilation, Attrition, and Exhaustion, Subversion; Intimidation; Deterrence and Containment."

This week has been the 40th Anniversary of the attacks by Hezbollah on the Marine and French Barracks in Beirut in 1983. War in Middle East looms over Marines’ 40th memorial of Beirut attack (marinecorpstimes.com)?? This was the start of a Terror and Unconventional Warfare Campaign by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps against the US and its Allies. ?During Operation Iraqi Freedom Iran conducted attacks on US forces and provided support to Iraqi groups that were proxies. IraqReport06.pdf (understandingwar.org)

Since Hamas’s attack on Israel 7 October 2023, Iranian Proxies have been conducting strikes against US Troops in Iraq and Syria. Iran foreign minister warns US against escalating Israel-Hamas war (nypost.com)

?Biden weighs striking Iranian proxies after attacks on U.S. troops (msn.com)? https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/2023-10-24/us-troops-attack-iran-middle-east-israel-hamas-118?

This led to US Action with an Air Strike against Iranian Proxies in Eastern Syria and Western Iraq. Kirby says US strikes on Iran proxies in Syria were ‘self-defense’ (yahoo.com)

What are proxies and what is proxy warfare? It falls within the area of Irregular Warfare.? Irregular Warfare is:

irregular warfare. A form of warfare where states and non-state actors campaign to assure or coerce states or other groups through indirect, non-attributable, or asymmetric activities. Also called IW. (Approved for incorporation into the DoD Dictionary.) Joint Publication 1, Volume 1, Joint Warfighting.

“Proxy wars are conflicts in which a third party intervenes indirectly in a pre-existing war in order to influence the strategic outcome in favor of its preferred faction. Proxy wars are the product of a relationship between a benefactor who is a state or non-state actor external to the dynamic of the existing conflict (for example, a civil war) and the chosen proxies who are the conduit for the benefactor’s weapons, training, and funding. In short, proxy wars are the replacement for states and non-state actors seeking to further their own strategic goals yet at the same time avoid engaging in direct, costly, and bloody warfare. Such responses are based on an intrinsic perception of risk, specifically that direct intervention in a conflict would be either unjustifiable, too costly (whether politically, financially, or materially), avoidable, illegitimate, or unfeasible.”?Proxy war - Oxford Reference

The U.S. strikes reflect the Biden administration's determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, possibly fueled by?Israel's war against Hamas, while also working to avoid inflaming the region and provoking a wider conflict. US fighter jets strike Iran-linked sites in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US troops (msn.com)

Only time will tell if this US Action contain Iranian backed proxy groups. The US has provided aid and advice to the Israeli Defense Forces and Humanitarian Aid to Palestinian Gaza in an effort to defuse tensions and minimize civilian casualties. The taking of hostages by Hamas has further complicated Israeli planning for operations in complex Urban terrain to include tunnels and subterranean complexes Pentagon rushes Marine Corps general, other advisers to Middle East (marinecorpstimes.com)

The concern by the Western Powers is the risk of a Northern Front on Israel’s Northern border with Lebanon.? Lebanon as a state has a very weak central government and economically devastated with a poor economy. Does Hezbollah have the influence it used to have paying for Humanitarian and Social Programs to cater support in Lebanon? Is the situation so dire that it would be a very limited response by Hezbollah in Lebanon? ?Interestingly, Saudi Arabia has been very silent during all of these recent events.

US strategy had been focused on Great Power Competition since 2017. ?Fortunately, Congress passed the Mac Thornberry NDAA Act for FY 21 COMPS-16736.pdf (govinfo.gov) which authorized a Functional Center for the Study of Irregular Warfare.? This organization has been stood up since October 2022 and is engaged with Allied, and Partner countries and the Joint Interagency to:

Mission: Our mission is to AMPLIFY and collaborate to build an innovative and adaptable global networked IW community of interest; To Strategically ILLUMINATE current and future irregular threats, crises, and obstacles; and to ADDRESS current and future irregular threats to the US, allies, and partners by providing optionality.

* Transform the global strategic mindset by coupling conventional combat power with diverse IW methodologies through academic instruction and analytic research to provide options to current and emerging threats. To learn more about the Irregular Warfare Center and the Brute Krulak Center, go to their public website links at the bottom of this article.

It is quite ironic that the first conflict the US finds itself entangled in after Afghanistan is in the Middle East and of an Irregular Warfare nature. Both Russia and the PRC use IW practices, but Iran as a partner of both of these Great Powers is trying to assert itself as a Regional Power in the Middle East. ?We must embrace the practice of IW as an area that can support strategic shaping of National Objectives and support the conventional Joint Force.

The future of conflict and competition is here.

The author of this article is Preston McLaughlin, a retired Marine officer, who served for over 27 years, including in Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. In retirement, he has taught in national security affairs at The Citadel, the U.S. Army War College and Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. He is a Non-Resident Fellow of the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine Corps University.

Irregular Warfare Center?????

Brute Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare (usmcu.edu)