text: Chapter 5
  insurgency to create a narrative of why the government’s actions are not legitimate, and how the insurgency
  can eliminate the root causes of the conflict.
  5-8. In areas of a country where an insurgency is in control, the insurgency can perform governmental
  functions. These functions replace the functions of the host-nation government. When an insurgency
  provides effective governance of a region or community, it can build local legitimacy.
  5-9. At the national level, an insurgency can promote a shadow government. A shadow government offers
  a known, tangible alternative to the present government to the population. This can be effective as a
  propaganda technique, and a shadow government can be useful in creating a successful transition for an
  insurgency. As propaganda, a shadow government allows an insurgency to identify and inform a population
  of a known alternative to the current government. In practice, a shadow government allows a governmental
  structure to quickly form in insurgent controlled areas. If an insurgency is successful, this allows for a
  transition to a coherent national government.
  POPULATION CONTROL
  5-10. One of the primary goals of a local insurgency is population control. Once the government is
  displaced from an area, an insurgency can act as the functioning government. With the use of force to
  enforce local rules and norms, an insurgency can become a functioning instrument to control the
  population. In such cases, it has displaced the government, at least locally. This control can be used to gain
  legitimacy among the population. When an insurgency both controls a local population and is seen as
  legitimate by the local population, it becomes more difficult to displace. The host nation must not only
  regain control of the area, but maintain control when the population may not view the host nation as a
  legitimate authority.
  MILITARY TACTICS
  5-11. Insurgents use violence to create a wide range of effects. For example, in the early phases of an
  insurgency, insurgents plan attacks to achieve the greatest political and informational impact while not
  becoming decisively engaged. During the war of movement, insurgents may try to destroy a host nation’s
  security forces or its communication channels. Commanders need to understand the wide variety of
  insurgent tactics. Insurgents may use both terrorist acts and conventional military tactics.
  Terrorist Acts
  5-12. Terrorist acts are meant to undermine the legitimacy of the government by demonstrating both the
  inability of the government to protect the population and the strength of the insurgency. The perpetrator of
  a terrorist act seeks to use the terror that the act produces among the population and the government to gain
  some political objective. Insurgents generally select targets based on their strategic, operational, and
  tactical importance and propaganda value. A terrorist attack will generally employ some deception and use
  techniques outside of accepted norms.
  5-13. The possibility of an insurgent group gaining access to weapons of mass destruction changes the
  strategic effect of terrorist actions. If an insurgency gains a nuclear capability, which is an increased
  possibility in an interconnected world, the threat of using a nuclear weapon would provide that insurgency
  leverage for political negotiations. The actual use of a nuclear weapon would have regional and global
  effects. The use of biological and chemical weapons would also have a strategic effect, but to a lesser
  degree than nuclear weapons. An insurgent’s use of weapons of mass destruction would transform the
  nature of a conflict.
  Conventional Tactics
  5-14. Insurgents use a wide range of tactics to attack counterinsurgents. The tactics insurgents use will be
  based on their capabilities. During a war of movement, insurgents may try to destroy host-nation
  government forces. However, this may expose insurgents if an attempt to destroy a host nation’s security
  force is taken too early. Insurgents must correctly judge their capabilities versus the host nation’s