A Brief Introduction

I've decided to start blogging in order to prevent settling into intellectual stagnation and isolation. We'll see if it works.

I envision Countergang as working something like this: I'll post bits of stuff that I find interesting from my readings on war and historical sociology. You'll read it, enjoy it, comment thoughtfully, and perhaps provoke some fruitful discussion.

My interests in the historical and sociological aspects of war are pretty broad, but I find myself especially drawn to insurgency/counterinsurgency, guerrilla warfare, the definition and treatment of an enemy, and mobilization.

What is a countergang? While serving in Kenya during the 1950s, General Sir Frank Edward Kitson raised forces composed of former Mau Mau guerrillas. The idea was basically to use former insurgents as scouts who would employ their knowledge of local conditions and thus aid security forces. This practice, as well as some brutal variations on it, caught on in a number of subsequent conflicts, e.g. Oman, Rhodesia, Angola, and Northern Ireland.

Here's Tony Geraghty's description of how the Mobile Reconnaissance Force worked in Northern Ireland: "With the help of the freds [i.e. captured and turned IRA men] the MRF identified active Provisionals, then shot them, usually from moving, unmarked cars, using the IRA's own gangster weapon, the Thompson sub-machine gun."

Ian F.W. Beckett notes that some countergangs in Rhodesia actually carried out attacks on friendly, civilian targets in order to prove their "bona fides" to their former insurgent colleagues.

If you have any anecdotes or readings on countergangs, I'd like to hear them.