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DTIC ADA490910: Combating Insurgency: Can Lessons from the Huk Rebellion Apply to Iraq?

Operation Iraqi Freedom can be won using a strategy that utilizes all instruments of American and Iraqi national power to eliminate the root causes that drive the populace to support the insurgents. This will strangle the insurgency from its critical base of support, and enable the Iraqi government to gain the support of the populace. The Hukbalahap (Huk) Insurrection, which was faced by the Philippine government beginning in the 1930s, had distinctly different origins and motivations from the insurgency the United States is currently fighting in Iraq. Despite these differences, similarities exist between the two insurgencies that may provide useful lessons for U.S. and host nation forces in Iraq. In the Huk rebellion, insurrection forces were defeated when savvy leadership reformed military efforts, and combined social, political, and economic actions with improved military action to alienate insurgents from their popular support. The United States and Iraq must implement a similar strategy to achieve victory. The Iraqi insurgency will be defeated when ingenious leaders apply strategies and supporting operations that focus on winning the popular support of the people and undermini

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