Misuse of Mass, Manoeuvre, and Potentially Swarming
AirLand Battle, of course, has been ineffective against the Iraqi insurgency, but, in fairness, it was not designed for such combat. Reaching back to WWII occupation planning, GEN Eric Shinseki's recommendations for a much larger occupation force for Iraq, and Barnett's concept of the "System Administrator" all applied better to the post-conventional phase that should have been expected. In Barnett's terminology, Leviathan was asked to do the job of System Administrator.
Swarming is not appropriate for all low-intensity conflict. If one considers civilian law enforcement as able to use swarming, it is indeed appropriate to swarm a car, full of criminals actively shooting, which is moving at dangerous high speed through crowded streets. Police calming a domestic situation, often find calmness, not a show of force, to be most effective.
Read more about this topic: Swarming (military), Swarming Is Not A Panacea
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