Lessons from Antiquity

In Iraq today, the United States military is engaging a challenging and elusive insurgent force seeking to avoid conventional combat. Due to the insurgents' use of asymmetric tactics to engage a superior military force and the necessity for the U.S. military to adapt to this unconventional style of warfare, it is common to hear "countering an insurgency is a new way of war." However, this claim is far from the truth. Examples of conventional armies countering popular uprisings, often employing guerilla tactics, abound throughout history. In particular, ancient Roman history provides a multitude of cases exemplifying how a government's actions may prevent or lead to an insurgency; how a conventional military action may resolve or frustrate the underlying tensions of the population; and how establishment of a peaceful rule over a conquered people is difficult to achieve and sustain. Thus, ancient Rome provides an excellent framework for a historical analysis applicable to modern warfare.