A rich, technologically sophisticated, nuclear-armed superpower sends its troops into a poor, developing country. The initial occupation is swift, easy, almost bloodless. The opposition melts away. The super-power’s leaders are optimistic about the future. Hard times lie ahead, they say, but the stakes are high, the mission is important and there is no question of leaving before the difficult job of rebuilding a shattered society is complete.
Before long, the opposition regroups. Unable to defeat the superpower in set-piece battles, it relies on insurgency. There is no shortage of volunteers. Some merely want to fight the foreign invader. Others fight in pursuit of ideals. Virtually indistinguishable from ordinary civilians, the guerrillas move effortlessly around the country planting bombs, staging ambushes, terrorizing and murdering those who collaborate with the foreign occupiers.
As the insurgency swells, the superpower digs in. Grim faced, its leaders...
David A. Welch teaches political science at the University of Toronto, where he holds the George Ignatieff Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Advertisement
Advertisement