Essay Example on Pacification in USA Military History: A Three-Part Approach

Pacification has been a complex issue within the military history of the USA. It reflects the attitude of USA policies towards hostile populations in times of war. Also, the approach of pacification has been used by colonial governments to silence anti-colonial movements in the past. The method relies heavily on three major concepts revolving around the military, economic, and political activities. Carrying out activities in the above concepts, simultaneously, is very helpful in efforts to control or appease civilians. Consequently, the activities can come in handy when looking to force change and reforms in governments overwhelmed by either external interferences or insurgencies (Neocleous, 2012). However, the pacification policies presented by the American government have attracted both criticism and praise from various factions, many times resulting in antiwar protests.

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Military intervention is a crucial part of pacification. This mainly involves preventing warfare attacks on civilians, given this may bring many negative effects such as torture, assassinations, and theft of civilian property. Also, military interventions aimed at cutting short the supply of resources and psychological support to guerilla warfare, most of which are provided by civilian supporters. This may be achieved through the destruction of logistical infrastructure used by insurgents (Neocleous, 2012). Economic activities such as resettlement and cutting short the production processes are very helpful in pacification. Separating individuals from the production processes is a crucial step that aids in capitalism. They ensure that there is low or no availability of resources to insurgents, in the process weakening their fighting capabilities. Such economic activities.

Political efforts can be helpful during pacification. These entail policing and conducting investigations on potential uprisings against the recognized government within the civilian population. Intelligence operatives are then tasked with identifying the leaders of such uprisings. Pacification political activities also involve the detention and interrogation of insurgent leaders and may even lead to issuing identification documents to the civilian population to aid in tracking down insurgents. Governments can play a huge political role in bringing down insurgents. This can be achieved through addressing the economic, social, and political issues fueling insurgencies within the civilian population. This way the insurgents may be convinced to participate in reforms in the process laying down arms.

Military intervention, economic, and political activities are all interdependent in the pacification process. Nevertheless, military intervention plays the most critical part. This is because insurgency logistical and social infrastructure have to be destroyed before economic and political activities are enacted. Economic activities such as resettlement are impossible without first rendering the insurgents powerless. Failure to do so would result in attacks from the insurgents. The arrests and detention of insurgent leaders would also be unattainable without first segregating them from the rest of the population through economic activities (Neocleous, 2012). Therefore, all the three concepts of pacification are interdependent.

Conclusion

Pacification is evident in the film The Battle of Algiers. The people of Algeria want independence from the colonial power, France. France employs pacification methods to quell the resistance against colonialism. As the film begins, a resistor against colonialism has just been tortured and given the whereabouts of their leader, Ali(Dick, 2004). Detainment and interrogation is a political activity in pacification. Lieutenant colonel Mathieu Philippe is tasked with bringing order to Algiers after a terrorist attack. He plots a plan to get the resistors who had branded themselves FLN. To achieve this, he uses destructive pacification by supporting a strike called for by FLN to arrest and detain suspects. The paratroopers also destroy the shops and properties of the FLN supporters. The paratroopers depend on speculation to make arrests. By speculating that those who strike are FLN members, they go door to door arresting striking workers. Some of the workers are tortured and give out information concerning their involvement in the resistance.

References

Mark Neocleous (2012): ‘A Brighter and Nicer New Life’: Security as Pacification. Social & Legal Studies 2011 20: 191

Dick, J. T. (2004). The battle of Algiers. Library Journal, 129(20), 177.