TE Lawrence Fundamentals Of An Insurgency - Essay Example

The six fundamentals of insurgency according to T.E Lawrence The six fundamentals of insurgency according to T.E Lawrence Analysis of the Taliban guerilla movement in Afghanistan The Taliban insurgency is an Islamic political movement operating in Afghanistan. When the group gained power in 1996, it enforced strict teaching of the Sharia laws or Islamic laws. However, the movement received international condemnation and criticism because of the way it treated women. For instance, when the Taliban occupied Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, they advised and cautioned girls against going to schools.

In addition, they restricted women to their homes in that they were not allowed to work outside their homes (Serbu, 2007). This led to a crisis in education and healthcare. Those who went against the orders were either beaten or shot to death. The Taliban rule gained global condemnation for its laws or policies. Only Pakistan, United Arabs Emirates, and Saudi Arabia recognized it as legitimate. However, after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the U.S, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia cut friendly and diplomatic ties with the group claiming that it was dangerous and a threat to regional and international security.

In response, the U.S urged the Taliban to turn over Al-qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden but they refused. This prompted the U.S and other Western nations to start bombing Afghanistan and endorsing the Northern Alliance (Rashid, 2011). In the end, Hamid Karzai was declared as a temporary leader of the Afghan government. This signaled the end of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan but the group seems to be reorganizing despite most of its radical and lethal leaders being killed or imprisoned. In order to understand the activities and nature of the Taliban guerilla movement, it is vital to analyze it based on T.

E Lawrence six’s fundamentals of insurgency. T.E Lawrence asserts that few words can be used to describe insurgents in context with legal armies. T.E Lawrence described six fundamental principles of insurgency. With regard to the Taliban group that operates in Afghanistan, one of the principles of insurgency described is that the group is an intricate and sophisticated enemy, which makes it hard for conventional armies of the Afghanistan government to handle. Secondly, the Taliban guerilla movement has unassailable base in that it is difficult to understand how they operate and organize themselves.

Thirdly, Lawrence states that the movement must have less number of fighters, which makes it unable to occupy the disputed territory, as it is the case with the Taliban group. Fourthly, the group in this case, the Taliban has a passive support of the afghan population who does not fully support their activities (Scheinder, 2011). Fifth, the Taliban movement has fundamental qualities of endurance, speed, presence and logistical autonomy in that it has been hard for the Afghanistan government in conjunction with the U.

S and Britain to contain them. Lastly, the Taliban group use sophisticated and advanced weapons to strike the enemy’s signal vulnerabilities and logistics. ReferencesRashid, A. (2011). Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. p 27-29. Schneider, J. (2011). T.E Lawrence and the mind of an insurgent. New York: Kindle Books. Serbu, G. (2007). Heavy armor in small wars and insurgencies. Small Wars Journal, Vol. 7, pages 1-9.