History
Rather than the formal definition, it is more understandable with some historical context. The British generally seemed to be most consistent between theory and practice, although the minimum-effort theory, which worked in Malaya, did not seem to apply to Northern Ireland. French doctrine at the turn of the 20th century, involving working with locals, did not seem to be the heart of doctrine in Algeria and Indochina. France does seem to manage cooperation with former colonies, now clients.
US doctrine for Special Forces stayed consistent at the tactical level, but frequently failed at higher levels by dealing with unpopular governments; the Philippines were the greatest success.
Read more about this topic: Foreign Internal Defense
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated. Such is history; such is the history of civilization for thousands of years.”
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“No matter how vital experience might be while you lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.”
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