text: Foundations of Insurgency
  • Root causes that lead to the insurgency within a rural population, such as lack of land
  ownership, grazing rights, water rights, isolation or inclusion in political process, access
  to markets, or schools.
  • Growing seasons, rainy/dry seasons, planting/harvest time (key events). These may influence
  level and type of insurgent activity.
  • Use of structures and infrastructures by both the insurgent and population.
  • Tribal, religious, or other affiliations, which may have tremendous effect on the local
  populace’s willingness to support an insurgency, or where people and insurgents can expect
  sanctuary or will avoid.
  • Proximity to international borders that may provide sanctuary or support.
  • Rugged, inaccessible terrain with often hostile populations to outsiders that may provide
  sanctuary or support.
  • Economic enclaves, such as slums, market areas, middle class areas, and wealthy areas.
  • Geographic divisions along ethnic, tribal, religious, political or other factors.
  EXTERNAL SUPPORT
  2-53. External support includes moral support, political support, resource support, or sanctuary support.
  External support can come from any entity outside of the Host Nation—not just neighboring states.
  Countries from outside the region seeking political or economic influence can also support insurgencies.
  Insurgencies may turn to transnational criminal elements for funding or use the Internet to create a support
  network. Ethnic or religious communities in other states may also provide a form of external support
  and sanctuary, particularly for transnational insurgencies. Access to external support influences the
  effectiveness of insurgencies.
  2-54. Accepting external support can affect the legitimacy of both insurgents and counterinsurgents.
  The act of acceptance implies the inability to sustain oneself. In addition, the country or group providing
  support attaches its legitimacy along with the insurgent group it supports. The consequences can affect
  programs in the supporting nation wholly unrelated to the insurgent situation.
  MORAL SUPPORT
  2-55. Moral support is the acknowledgement that the insurgent or their cause is just and admirable. It
  starts as outside popular approval and can manifest with negative media attention focused towards the
  counterinsurgent or Host Nation. Moral support often leads to political, resource, and sanctuary support.
  POLITICAL SUPPORT
  2-56. Political support is the active promotion of insurgents’ strategic goals in international forums.
  International forums such as the United Nations, trade sanctions and embargoes, and the creation
  of political discussion in the Unites States can all provide political support, which negatively influences the
  counterinsurgent’s effort. Another form of political support can come when a legitimate state actually
  recognizes an insurgent group as a legitimate authority. Political support is the most dangerous form
  of support as it can result in an insurgency gaining international legitimacy, forcing the counterinsurgent
  to stop actively targeting them.
  RESOURCE SUPPORT
  2-57. Resource support is typically guerrillas, money, weapons, equipment, food, advisors, and training.
  Resource support is often the most important form of support, such as, during the French experience
  in Algeria. Although insurgents were numerous, weapons were not, because the French closed
  international borders, preventing arms smuggling.