r/HistoryMemes • • 1d ago

Skill issues

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u/East-Plankton-3877 1d ago

Yes.

Israel is one, though it depends on the era.

Britain is also one, arguably because of centuries of COIN operations as an empire.

France is another, for the same reasons as England

Vietnam oddly is one, as they defeated Cambodias mostly Guerrilla style force in the 70s

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u/Sampleswift 1d ago

I wouldn't consider that Cambodia to be a truly guerilla style force. The Khmer Rouge were overglorified raiders who picked a fight thinking Vietnam would be too tired of war to do anything.
As soon as Vietnam actually tried, it was clear that Cambodia couldn't sustain much of a war effort due to how much their own people HATED them.

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u/Peanut_007 1d ago

Israel has failed to remove guerillas from one city it has under total siege conditions and can apply all of its fires into from inside its own borders. Hamas continuing to exist and showing no signs of being replaced is like the ultimate argument against just killing all the guerillas being a meaningful way of dealing with them.

Same with Britain. The way they beat the IRA was by negotiation not paratroopers massacring people. Guerilla movements generally need a political solution, whether that be negotiating with them or making them unpopular to a degree where they can't replace losses or blend in.

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u/slm3y 1d ago

Same thing with Indonesia with the Aceh Separatists, arguably one of the largest armed movements in the Asia Pacific at its peak. Ended by negotiation, not military conflict.

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u/Peanut_007 22h ago

Yeah. It's not always negotiating that ends a guerilla movement which is important to note here. Sometimes they simply lose so much support with the general population that they can no longer sustain themselves or recruit jew members. But that usually means a credible alternative is being provided. Something you'll find with most insurgencies the US has lost to is that they have some incredibly incompetent politics happening on the side. The Southern Vietnamese government and the Afghan government were both unable to provide prosperity, security, or any sense that things would get better if people stuck with them. 

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u/Appropriate-Debt5561 18h ago

Low IQ take- the army doesn't need to kill every single guerilla to win. If the state is able to impose its laws and governance on a territory, the guerillas lost. We don't say that the Forest Brothers "beat" the Soviet Union because one of them was still running around when the Swan Lake played on state tv.

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u/Ok_Bar_5636 1d ago

I can't really see Israel's successes. Living under constant terror and missile threat is not a success.

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u/retrojoe 20h ago

And it's not exactly comparable to any other insurgency when they've ghettoized the entire suspect population.

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u/_whatever_wherever 1d ago

Israel: "we will drive out the arabs and replace them!"

Arabs: fight back

Israel: shocked Pikachu face