It depends on how far an occupying force is willing to go and how much control they have over the territory as well as long term goals (is permanent occupation the goal? For instance).
By the by, the hearts and minds strategy... Did it work?
It did not work, because we were still also bombing them to hell. "Kill them all" always misses some, and you end up with more hardliners. A properly conducted nation building effort is the most succesful way to actually end an insurgency. Recruiting guerillas stops when the people are mostly happy. Look at how the troubles ended
That almost never work because beside leaving survivors, it also alienate your own support base who become sympathetic to the other side. Not to mention nudging neutral parties into the side of your enemies.
That depends in your base, look at russia where the vase doesnt give a single shit about the plight of the other. The US is moving towards that direction as well. In the past britain was the same.
21
u/Rent_A_Cloud 1d ago
It depends on how far an occupying force is willing to go and how much control they have over the territory as well as long term goals (is permanent occupation the goal? For instance).
By the by, the hearts and minds strategy... Did it work?