Contemporary Counterinsurgency Operations: History as a Guide to Assist in the Development of the Joint Interagency Task Force

Abstract

To successfully engage and destroy the increasing contemporary insurgent threat, the U.S. must develop standing, multifunctional, capabilities-based joint interagency task forces primarily focused on counterinsurgency operations. This research examines the critical elements of the British counterinsurgency campaign during the Malayan Emergency, 1948–1960. While not all inclusive, analysis of this campaign provides a starting point for annotation of critical capabilities required for the future conduct of counterinsurgency operations. These capabilities, combined with contemporary insurgent vulnerabilities, will define the critical capabilities required to derive the counterinsurgency team. Furthermore, this study proposes the requisite U.S. government national assets necessary to shape the team. Lastly, this paper recommends the organizational structure and the team's relationship to the combatant command in order to facilitate its definitive and relative employment.