Learning from American Street Gangs: Fighting Insurgency in Iraq

Abstract

Abstract : In December of 2005, two men shared similar feelings about the violence in their community. Absolutely incredible, absolutely too much death...All around town today people are saying, 'Why are so many people dying in this city?' A second observer echoed similar despair, You just never know what you will face. Each day when I come to work, I think it will be my last day alive. Despite describing similar situations, these men live worlds apart. The first is a former assemblyman from the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In his city, street gang violence may be responsible for as many as 68 deaths this year. The second is a shopkeeper from Baghdad, Iraq. He sees violent clashes between insurgents and coalition and Iraqi security forces on a regular basis. A strong connection exists between American street gangs and the Iraqi insurgency. Military operators can learn a great deal from American gangs because their structures, motivations, and tactics closely mirror the current Iraqi insurgency. This paper's ultimate focus is to validate a practical training tool that relates an identifiable American face to the nebulous concept of an insurgency.