The State’s Struggle to Master Asymmetrical Warfare

uniform, utilizes any tactic, and swears its allegiance not to a government, but an ideology. However, governmental entity since the city-state of Athens fought Melos over two thousand years ago. This enigma is asymmetrical warfare. The only way to truly study asymmetrical warfare is to take into account its long history. Thus, measure the relationship between the duration of asymmetrical war and the state’s chances of victory. The results showcased little difference in the state’s percentage of victory for short and medium length wars. For wars over three years, the chances of victory for the state plunged by thirty-one percent. the state and provides another clue in the state’s struggle to master asymmetrical warfare. Purpose and Overview The aircraft hovered over an old abandoned home in the deserts of rural Afghanistan. Inside, a the motor and knew what was to come. A split second later, the house exploded. Ironically, the year attack conducted by an American drone, but with what the British considered a piece of untested techas a reminder that the clash of terrorists and insurgents against the state is an age-old problem that troubled the ancient city-state of Athens in its war against Melos as much as it does America today. relationship between the length of asymmetrical warfare and its effect on the outcome of the war. Buried underneath these forgotten wars are clues to how the state can master this form of war. This paper attempts to discover some of these clues. Wisniewski American University’s Clocks and Clouds, Volume II, Fall 2012 This study’s hypothesis was that as asymmetrical wars get longer, the state’s chances of victory dramatically decrease. The study’s dependent variable was the outcome of the war, and the indepen-