Category Archives: Counter Insurgency (COIN)

Ireland’s Wars: COIN In The Nine Years War

Posted on Mar 6, 2013 by NFB

As with so much of Ireland’s military history, the Nine Years War was an insurgency war for the most part. Save for the handful of bigger engagements and the sieges that took place (mostly by the English side), the war … Continue reading →

Posted in Counter Insurgency (COIN), History, Ireland, Ireland's Wars, War | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Stupidest Thing I’ve Read This Week (13/5/12)

Posted on May 13, 2012 by NFB

Third place this week goes to Fox News, and the initial headline they put up in response to President Obama’s declaration regards gay marriage. They altered it pretty quickly. I’m not sure why they did, considering how the first headline … Continue reading →

Posted in Counter Insurgency (COIN), Middle East, Politics, Stupidest Thing, War | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ireland’s Wars: How Art MacMurragh Brought Down The English Monarchy

Posted on May 8, 2012 by NFB

Richard II had left Ireland in a precarious state in 1395, and his diplomatic attempts at solving the problems there quickly unravelled. His deal with Art MacMurragh was not honoured, and so the King of Leinster could not be relied … Continue reading →

Posted in Counter Insurgency (COIN), History, Ireland, Ireland's Wars, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The RAND COIN Scoresheet And The Irish Civil War

Posted on Apr 19, 2012 by NFB

The Civil War was a very different conflict to that fought between the IRA and the British. It was a successful COIN campaign, a very rare thing. What does the RAND scoresheet have to say about it? Good Factors 1. … Continue reading →

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The RAND COIN Scorecard And The Irish War Of Independence

Posted on Apr 11, 2012 by NFB

The RAND think tank, last year, came up with a “scorecard” method of reviewing counter-insurgency campaigns. The scorecard ranks a COIN campaign in terms of “good” and “bad” practices that take place by the actual COIN force and the insurgents … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Counter Insurgency (COIN), History, Iraq, Ireland, Irish Defence Forces, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The War Of Independence Paradox

Posted on Feb 14, 2012 by NFB

“The Civil War Paradox” from the Small Wars Journal, courtesy of Yale PhD student Lionel Beehner. Interesting stuff on the definitions of “rebellion”, “insurgency”, “protest” “civil war” and “revolution”, the relationship between those terms, all centred around the continuing debate … Continue reading →

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Ireland And Iraq: When COIN Works And When It Cant

Posted on Jun 1, 2011 by NFB

The Irish Civil War is a conflict that is widely ignored in military circles, outside of the Irish Army, which has always seemed strange to me. The Irish Civil War is that rarest of things: an example of a successful … Continue reading →

Posted in Counter Insurgency (COIN), History, Iraq, Ireland, Middle East, Xtranormal Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The US, Pakistan And Leverage

Posted on May 22, 2011 by NFB

I see this kind of bizarre sentiment expressed by a lot of people over the last while, that the United States has somehow gained a measure of “leverage” over Pakistan as a result of the circumstances surrounding the death of … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Counter Insurgency (COIN), Middle East, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Royal Visit: How I Ended Up In A COIN Campaign

Posted on May 17, 2011 by NFB

It was while I was in the middle of a three and a half hour journey home from work, because of Dublin Bus, Luas and Irish Rail alterations due to the Queen’s visit, that I began to get a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Counter Insurgency (COIN), Ireland, Irish Defence Forces, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

COIN: Not Dead, Only Sleeping

Posted on Mar 2, 2011 by NFB

A lot has been made of the remarks of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates the other day, when he appeared to signal the end of the US’s focus on counter-insurgency and a drawdown on its armed forces. In particular, Gates seemed to draw a … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Counter Insurgency (COIN), History, Middle East, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment