This is a very interesting article and I'm excited to see more scholarly writing on urban warfare, especially work that challenges some conventional wisdom. I have some quick thoughts. 1/
The article argues that the urban environment, just like the jungle, is neutral - it's neither good nor bad, and it manifests differently, but with equal impact, upon all sides. I disagree. 2/
First of all, what is the urban environment? I didn't see a definition in the article, but by most accounts, we're talking people, structures, and infrastructure. 3/
People are rarely neutral; they treat indigenous forces differently from foreign forces. People's attitudes change and populations shift as wars unfold, changing alliances and networks, which benefits some conflict parties & damage others, rarely if ever in an equal way. 4/
Are structures neutral? Is infrastructure? A building is a building and a sewage system is a sewage system, sure. But their size, location, density, durability, composition, etc all matter for urban operations, and these effects differ whether you're on the offense or defense, 5/
conventional forces or non-state groups, the size, capabilities, & logistical support available to the forces, etc. History shows for example that defense has the advantage in urban warfare, i.e. urban environment is good for defender, bad for attacker, but not neutral. 6/
The urban environment & difficulties that emanate from its people, structures, and infrastructure are anything but neutral; it affects different protagonists in unique ways, & without undermining the difficulty of jungle warfare, the urban environment is different ballgame. /7
Also. If you're interested in my work on urban warfare (which is not cited in the article), here are some recent stuff:
- A comprehensive report on historical trends & current challenges for military operations in cities (ifri.org/en/publication…)
- A comprehensive report on historical trends & current challenges for military operations in cities (ifri.org/en/publication…)
- Russian urban warfare & AI (w/@SamBendett) warontherocks.com/2019/07/russia…
- Urban warfare in Turkey's conflict w/ the PKK (w/ @BurakKadercan) warontherocks.com/2018/01/old-do…
- Drivers and consequences of the rise in global urban violence (w/ @SpencerGuard) fpri.org/article/2018/0…
- Urban warfare in Turkey's conflict w/ the PKK (w/ @BurakKadercan) warontherocks.com/2018/01/old-do…
- Drivers and consequences of the rise in global urban violence (w/ @SpencerGuard) fpri.org/article/2018/0…
