I just wanted to share a couple of excerpts from the US Military's counter-insurgency field manual which are particularly relevant at this time. Won't be a long thread, but one quote per tweet.

"Fostering development of effective governance by a legitimate government that can provide security
and acts in the best interests of its people may be essential to countering an insurgency. Legitimacy can be
seen as the willing acceptance of a government by its population."

"In most counterinsurgency operations in which
foreign forces participate, insurgents hold a distinct advantage in their level of local knowledge. They speak
the language, move easily within the society, and are more likely to understand the population’s interests."

"Without accurate and predictive intelligence, it is often better to not act rather than to act.
Gaining situational understanding before action is often essential in avoiding long term damage to mission
objectives."

"In counterinsurgency operations, a cycle often develops where intelligence drives operations, which produces additional intelligence that facilitates subsequent operations.
Reporting by tactical units and civilian agencies is often of greater importance."

"To truly counter an insurgency, counterinsurgents must gather, analyze, and disseminate civil
information pertaining to the population...identifying what is preventing legitimacy is as important, if not more so, than intelligence pertaining to enemy actions."

"When insurgents are seen as criminals, they lose public
support. The legal use of population control measures, including curfews, movement restrictions, travel permits, registration cards, and biometric census may assist in
identifying the insurgents and protecting population."

"Insurgents can become extremely difficult to identify, track, and interdict if they are
effective in acting clandestinely. Insurgencies may persist for many years after the main threat has been
broken."

"Effective counterinsurgency commanders tell the truth; they refuse to give projections; and they do not promise more than can be provided. Achieving steady progress toward a set of reasonable expectations can increase the population’s tolerance for the inevitable inconveniences"

"Any action has an information reaction. Counterinsurgency forces should carefully consider that information reaction’s impact on the
many audiences involved in the conflict and on the sidelines."

"if the counterinsurgent security forces show restraint in the eyes of the population, the entire counterinsurgency
effort is further legitimized. The general rule for the use of force for the counterinsurgents is: do not create
more enemies than you eliminate with your action.”

"Insurgents connected with other organizations constantly exchange information about their enemy’s vulnerabilities—even with insurgents
in distant theaters."

"The long-term goal is to leave a government able to stand by itself. In the end, the host nation has to win on its own. Achieving this requires development of viable local leaders and institutions."

These are the tools the Biden administration needs, that YOU need, and - you must never forget this - the insurgent forces are likely to a) know the same and b) be ahead of you for some time.

Learn this stuff. Know this stuff. Get some.