ABSTRACT
The Special Forces, although used more in accord with widely accepted counter-insurgency doctrines, were too small and specialized in their function to have other than a minor, catalytic effect on American approaches to the war. The most substantial elements of the other American forces in Vietnam, the infantry divisions, were introduced to effective counter-insurgency methods in training but the lessons taught were rarely fully absorbed, particularly at senior command levels. Perhaps the main lesson of long-term significance to come out of the Rhodesian conflict is that a small, proficient counter-insurgency force can stave off a large, militarily inefficient guerrilla force for a long time. Nonetheless there are some concepts, on both sides of the insurgency counter-insurgency relationship, which are recognizably applicable to a wide range of individual situations, which will remain relevant in the 1980s. More recently, the Soviet Union has become involved in supporting established governments, such as in Afghanistan and Ethiopia..
