Military, political, and social operations designed to defeat an insurgency or armed rebellion from within a territory.
From counter- + insurgency (from insurgent, Latin insurgere, 'to rise up'). A 20th-century military term that became prominent during decolonization conflicts.
Counterinsurgency is paradoxically harder than winning regular wars—it requires winning hearts and minds, not just battles, which is why militarily superior forces often still lose to insurgencies.
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