Befolkningens stöd vid upprorsbekämpning

David Galulas theories has strongly influenced modern counterinsurgency (COIN) theory. According to the authors of the current US. COIN field manual FM 3-24, Galula was the theoretician that had the most considerable influence on the field manual. Galula claims that the objective in COIN is to win the populations active support, because without it, the counterinsurgent will never win the war. Surveys conducted on the Iraq war between 2004-2008 shows that the US-led Coalition did not win the support of the population, since it decreased constantly from the start of the war until 2007, when 79% of the population was against their presence in the country. However, in Mars 2008 the support had instead increased to 72%. This essay studies the US-led coalitions COIN methods in Iraq between 2004 to 2007, and aims to investigate how COIN methods affect the support of the population for the counterinsurgent. The results shows that, to gain the support of the population, the counterinsurgent must station their troops amongst the population and protect them from the insurgency.