A war that armies do not monopolize… It is a mixture of military and non-military methods, as the author of the book “Unseen Wars” describes it.
Director of the French Institute of International Relations Thomas Gomar says – in his book “Unseen Wars” – that “the concept of hybrid war helps in understanding the current conflicts that combine strategic intimidation with weapons of mass destruction, joint operations carried out by special units and mercenaries, and large-scale disinformation maneuvers.”
The French newspaper “Le Monde” considers the case of Ukraine a realistic example of this type of war, as the Russians and the Americans in Geneva began discussing the fate of this former Soviet republic, which Moscow wants to return to its fold, and prevent it from membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (NATO). ) and the European Union, contrary to the desire of the vast majority of Ukrainians.
A mixture of military and non-military
The newspaper explained – in a report by Mark Simo – that hybrid strategies in this type of war mix between military and non-military, direct and indirect modes of action, which are often difficult to determine which party is doing them, and which are always designed to remain below the exciting limit. For counterattack or open conflict.
Therefore, Russia, after its pro-Russian regime in Kiev was overthrown under street pressure, annexed Crimea in the spring of 2014, in an operation carried out by special forces without insignia, called the “Little Green Men”, and then a pro-Russian rebellion – with the support of Russian soldiers without insignia – was manipulated. Uniform – Eastern Ukraine.
Because hybrid warfare is not necessarily armed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described sending thousands of migrants transported by the Belarusian regime from the Middle East to the Polish and Lithuanian borders in the fall of 2021 as a “hybrid attack” to put pressure on the European Union.
In addition, according to the author, the dissemination of misinformation, cyber-attacks and economic predation, as it is no longer possible to distinguish between civilian and military technologies, nor between professional soldiers and casual combatants, where all state agencies cooperate.
This term appeared – as the writer explains – 20 years ago in strategic studies, and was first used officially in France in the 2013 “White Paper” on defense and national security, and it has succeeded in solving the problem of the inadequacy of Western defense tools for forms of war that are sometimes described as It is “irregular,” “asymmetrical,” “low density,” or “fourth generation,” says Eli Tenenbaum, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations in his book The Thirty Years’ War.
Trojans
The newspaper pointed out that this term was spread in 2005 by General James Mattis during the Iraqi chaos, and he was appointed in 2007 to head the NATO Command, tasked with anticipating the military challenges of the alliance.
He adopted the idea that refers to war outside the usual frameworks, and to the combination of regular and irregular operations, especially since manipulation, propaganda and lies have always been part of the art of war, as the Trojan horse designed by Ulysses was a masterpiece of hybrid warfare, as the Chinese General Sun Tzu wrote In the sixth century BC the art of war is based on “subduing the enemy without fighting”.
And “Vladimir Putin’s Russia” seeking to restore its position in the international arena and China during the era of Xi Jinping – according to the author – was the first to develop theories and use these practices, so that the army no longer has a monopoly on war, for these methods to spread after that.
The annexation of Crimea has inspired many nations to engage in unpredictable and hybrid modes of action based on intimidation and manipulation.
“We have learned that creating a state of uncertainty and surprise for the adversary through cunning and innovative methods of action has become a necessity of our mission,” says Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Thierry Borcard.
And this general wants to prepare his forces and society to “win the war before the war”, a war that takes place in the field but also in the paths of diplomacy, media, space, economics or law, because the goal is to control minds before controlling bodies.