Naval postgraduate school monterey, california thesis approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

party members.
31
Politics as defined by Bard O’Neil is the “process of making and executing 
binding decisions for society.”
32
Understanding the political importance of militia 
objectives in a weak state that is occupied by a foreign military force will contribute to 
identifying feasible policy responses to them in the search for long term peace. Militias 
embroil themselves in protracted low-level conflict because they believe they can achieve 
a successful political outcome. Galula states that “all wars are theoretically fought for a 
political purpose.”
33
Why do these militia’s focus primarily on the political outcome? It 
gives the militia the advantage to compete with a larger conventional military force that is 
designed to defeat an inferior opponent. It will also give them a regional advantage with 
maintaining control long after the occupying force have disappeared and when 
survivability of the group becomes an important factor. Whoever controls the population 
will win the struggle.
34
This has been true of the Mahdi Militias’ objectives since the 
inception of U.S. forces in Iraq. Although their means of achieving victory have changed 
since 2003, the drive for political power has remained the same.
35
The nature of the 
militia’s political agenda bestows upon them a strategic advantage against an occupation 
force. Unlike an insurgency, a militia has the best of both worlds. They are replete with 
support of the local populace whereas an insurgency might have to choose between 
31
Shultz and Dew, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, 239.
Passive support by the general population is more common. It allows for the continued execution of 
extremist activities without direct involvement. For example, if an extremist group is the only group 
providing security to a particular neighborhood but enforcing other rules unacceptable by the state, then the 
local population is less inclined to make changes since it will further jeopardize their family’s security. 
Active support involves activities such as providing financial assets, training, manpower, technical 
expertise, weapons, materiel, medical, food, etc. in order to positively influence their success.
32
Bard E. O’Neill, Insurgency & Terrorism: From Revolution to Apocalypse, 2nd , revised ed. 
(Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2005), 15. 
33
Galula, Counterinsurgency Warfare; Theory and Practice, 4. 
34
Galula, 4-5. 
35
“Why Iraq Hangs in the Balance,” in Time Incorporated [database online]. New York, New York 
April 7, 2004 [cited 2007]. Available from 
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,608946,00.html.; “Behind Iraq’s Moqtada Intifada,” in 
Time Incorporated [database online]. New York, New York April 5, 2004 [cited 2007]. Available from 
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,608113,00.html (accessed March 5, 2007). 

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consensus and coercion. Even if the population does not support them politically, they 
“may still support them materially in exchange for the security that militias offer.”
36
The need for a protracted conflict also benefits the militia in terms of expense, flexibility, 
competing ideologies, and propaganda when competing with a large force.
37
Given the 
specific nature of militias, is a military strategy of defeat or engagement more likely to 
succeed in establishing security and stability? The remainder of this thesis seeks to 
answer this question.