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'Full spectrum dominance': Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense, and US irregular warfare strategy 2001-2008

Ryan, Maria

'Full spectrum dominance': Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense, and US irregular warfare strategy 2001-2008 Thumbnail


Authors

MARIA RYAN maria.ryan@nottingham.ac.uk
Associate Professor



Abstract

This article examines the evolution of US irregular warfare (IW) doctrine and practice from 2001 onwards. It argues that, after 9/11, top-tier civilian policymakers in the US Department of Defense (DoD) and across the US government developed a heightened awareness of asymmetric threats and non-conventional forms of warfare, especially those shaped by contemporary globalisation. The result was a gradual turn towards irregular warfare, led by Rumsfeld and the DoD, designed to ensure ‘full spectrum dominance’ across all modes of conflict. This pre-dated the insurgency in Iraq and the promotion of counterinsurgency in the US Army by General David Petraeus and others. Policymakers' reluctance to acknowledge the insurgency in Iraq was not down to a failure to understand the concept of IW, but because they had viewed Iraq in conventional terms for so many years and were reluctant to admit their mistake.

Citation

Ryan, M. (in press). 'Full spectrum dominance': Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense, and US irregular warfare strategy 2001-2008. Small Wars and Insurgencies, 25(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2014.893600

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 27, 2013
Online Publication Date May 28, 2014
Deposit Date Aug 30, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Small Wars and Insurgencies
Print ISSN 0959-2318
Electronic ISSN 1743-9558
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 25
Issue 1
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2014.893600
Keywords irregular warfare, counterinsurgency, Rumsfeld, Global War on Terror, 'full spectrum dominance'
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/728132
Publisher URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592318.2014.893600
Additional Information This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Small Wars and Insurgencies on 28 May 2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09592318.2014.893600

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