It’s Time for Special Operations to Dump ‘Unconventional Warfare’
Doug Livermore
October 6, 2017
“Unconventional warfare,” long a core mission of U.S. special operations forces, represents a bureaucratic albatross hanging about the neck of the U.S. Special Operations Command. While unconventional warfare served the United States well throughout the Cold War, the understanding of the term has become so distorted by policymakers that it is now essentially a “catch all” for many political warfare components that fall outside the purview of the Department of Defense. This doctrinal term should be retired and replaced immediately to refocus emphasis on the more comprehensive (and effective) concept of “political warfare” that incorporates all elements of U.S. national power (diplomatic, informational, military, and economic) to achieve durable political arrangements that support long-term U.S. national interests.
https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/its-time-for-special-operations-to-dump-unconventional-warfare/
