Detention Operations, Behavior Modification, and Counterinsurgency

摘要

Influencing the population is critical in a counterinsurgency, and the detainee population in Iraq represents a particularly salient demographic in that endeavor. Can an Iraqi detainee's extremist behavior be influenced and modified during detention, thereby making him a lesser threat to coalition forces upon release. This question is crucial for Iraq's future. The lengthy insurgency has resulted in a large number of detainees, and of those who are still being held captive, many have extremist backgrounds. If enough of them can be influenced to adopt positive attitudes toward coalition forces and the Iraqi government, and they return as constructive members of their villages and social networks, the cumulative effects would help tremendously in ensuring long-term national stability. In the past, military practitioners and academics alike did not regard detainee operations as a legitimate subject for study in counterinsurgency, but the Army now regards the enlightened treatment of Iraq's detainee population as an integral part of successful counterinsurgency operations. The characteristics of detention operations make it an ideal arena for combating an insurgency. Both guards and detainees 'inside- the-wire' are captive audiences in contact with each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, the Army's detainee counterinsurgency strategy (focused as it is today) is a relatively new development. It only began with Major General Douglas Stone's assumption of command of Task Force 134 in May 2007. One has to draw conclusions from the data and information available with caution. Nevertheless, developing an appropriate and successful system of detainee reintegration and reconciliation can produce great benefits and lessons for future counterinsurgency campaigns.