Draining the Swamp: The British Strategy of Population Control

Abstract

Examines the applicability for Iraq of the British counterinsurgency strategy of population control used in its Malaya & Kenya campaigns. It is argued that physical control of a contested population segment is essential, & this strategy might be applied in Iraq with modification to account for local circumstances & evolved international mores. In this light, the successful British campaigns in Malaya & Kenya are compared to the strategys failed application in Vietnam in the form of the Strategic Hamlet program. In closing, that this historical analysis may not have any bearing on conditions in Iraq is discussed. D. Edelman;  Markel presents a historical perspective of the British model for countering insurgencies. He also contrasts the two successful operations to the US experience in Vietnam and determines that the main lesson to be derived from those counterinsurgencies is that physical control of the contested segment of the population seemed essential.;