Unconventional Warfare in the Southern Philippines Essay

Unconventional Warfare in the Southern Philippines - Essay ExampleAny effort to defeat flagellumism must look at the underlying causes to be effective. This paper gives a brief background discussion on several causes which move people to resort to terrorist methods in order to fully understand how some counter-terror operations are undefeated while some others are not, despite massive logistical support given to these operations. It also gives an astounding pillowcase of tentative successes against terror groups such as the ones operating in the southern regions of the Philippines which is located in southeast contendd Asia. There are obvious lessons to be learned in that location which can hopefully be replicated elsewhere. Presently, there is no accepted international legal definition of terrorism. Countries may have their own laws against terrorism plainly a common feature of all these laws is that terrorism is considered as a criminal act. As such, it is punishable by th e harshest destine possible that can range from long prison terms, a life sentence or even capital punishment. The laymans definition of terrorism is that of an act or a series of acts knowing to sow extreme fear in the population. It is actually a form of coercion backed up by the threat of physical violence. Discussion Most terror groups today belong to network-type of organization. This kind of set-up allows for apiece tiny group (a terror cell) composed of just a few people to operate in a manner independent of the main organization which makes it difficult to track down other terror cells. There are varied reasons why people resort to terrorism and among them are the following a feeling or perception of being marginalized within the big society, to take the field against injustice, for political autonomy, religious emancipation or ethnic recognition. With this list in mind, it is too easy to see that military means exclusively cannot defeat terrorism if the underlying ca uses that had caused it to rise in the first place are not adequately addressed by the government. This paper is a reflective essay on a military judging article written by Sgt. Major William Eckert, an American military service member of the Joint particular Operations Task Force (JSOTF) in the Philippines. His article described how the US military in cooperation with the protective cover forces of the Philippines (the Philippine military and the police forces) have achieved a good measure of success in the fight against terrorism which could be used as the model for other forces operating elsewhere in the worlds global hot spots. In his own words, the battle against terrorism in this Asian country is a war for relaxation and prosperity. It has also gained the attention of senior military leaders impressed by its decent gains (Eckert 1). In essence, Sgt. Major Eckerts position paper is a claim that the battle against these terrorists is a battle of ideas. In other words, the o nly effective way to defeat terrorism is fight its idea (which serves as its recruiting tool by exploiting real or imagined grievances) with a much better idea that the way to prosperity is to maintain peace by addressing the perceived inequalities felt by the minority Muslim populace within much larger predominantly Catholic Philippine population. The most-telling result or achievement of