Pacification
Pacificationis a controversial and complex issue in American military history. It is controversial because it denotes U.S. policy toward hostile populations that are either the primary or secondary object of war itself. It is complex because it describes simultaneous military, political, and economic activities to protect, control, appease, or coerce civilians and to reform governments besieged by insurgency or external subversion. It can also refer to efforts to suppress anticolonial movements. Because it is overtly political and targeted at civilians, American officers have viewed pacification equivocally, sometimes treating it as a tertiary mission in a given campaign. Pacification policies have also served as a rallying point for American peace and antiwar movements, even though these policies often produce less death and destruction than other military operations.
Depending on the nature of the insurgency,...
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