Summary Of Wayne E. Lee's Waging War

As Wayne E. Lee points out in his book Waging War, modern warfare revolves around insurgencies. Due to the asymmetry of weaponry in these conflicts, insurgencies aim to make warfare as protracted as possible. As seen in the 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers, the insurgencies in Algeria use their limited capacity for conflict to their advantage, and fight the French descriptive instead of head on. The French army failed to deal with the insurgency effectively and thus public opinion in France began to change. Although the French won the Battle of Algiers, they would inevitably lose the Algerian War due to the public's response to the protracted war created by the insurency. Insurgencies aim for a protracted war in order to shift public opinion. Insurgencies are regularly politically motivated and seeking an uprising of some sort. By created a protracted war, the insurgency is given time to speak with the citizens of the area and gain their support. This in turn will allow for the uprising to be easier, as the citizens will have their support economically and politically. This is exactly what the insurgencies did in Algier, removing unfavorable things throughout the …show more content…
This strategy is intended to tire the stronger enemy, and make them rethink the importance of the conflict. The main target the insurgency wants to wear out is the public opinion of the state itself. The Battle of Algiers was conflict that took place in the Algerian capital for three years. Although the French won the conflict, it took a lot of time and effort to do so. Once they learned that the insurgency and the people that supported them were not finished, the public opinion of France began to question their relationship with Algeria and the Algerians would eventually win their independence. The public’s opinion on the war drastically changed the politics that came after, and over time the war came to a