NATO's Approach to Irregular Warfare: Protecting the Achilles' Heel

摘要

In IW, failure to expeditiously build government legitimacy to speed stability is indeed the Achilles' heel of NATO. The proposed IW strategy shifts the focus for SOF from the government-population line toward the population-fighters' line, which has been labelled the bottom line. The proposed paradigm shift for NATO SOF is rooted in the premise that IW will be won or lost at the bottom line connecting the population with the fighters or armed groups. Success in such conflicts will depend on rapid establishment of effective local governance recognized as legitimate by the local populace. SOF provide a unique capability to protect the Achilles' heel by affecting the relationship of the people and armed groups, within the context of authority the people consider legitimate, all within the critical constraints of time. SOF capabilities employed according to a bottom-line concept enable NATO to address irregular conflicts with a much smaller footprint, thus taking into account the decreased tolerance for major deployments by political leaders and public opinion. Additionally, the bottom-line concept provides a strategic framework drawing from proven historical examples of SOF such as U.S. Special Forces engagement with Montagnards in Vietnam and, more recently, village stability operations in Afghanistan.13 Using SOF to build government legitimacy from the ground up generates a great operational effect; in some cases, the effect achieved can even have strategic results. The bottom-line concept is a true policy alternative for strategic decision makers and should be formally incorporated into NATO's strategic thinking for the future.