Articles by Rafael Lopez Mercado

In this second installment on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan we will move to what is considered the most dangerous region of Afghanistan, both in war and in the rare periods of peace. Readers will be able to see how a successful strategy to combat the insurgency really existed. Contrary to everything written by the press and displayed on cinema and television screens, in the first years of Western military presence there was a glimmer of hope for peace and development in the area. Both were wasted, both politically and in the halls of the Pentagon. This is the story of those years, a prelude to the hell that a valley of indescribable beauty would become. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Revista Ejercitos taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through [Keep reading…]

For two decades, troops from Western countries have carried out countless operations in a counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan. In addition, they have trained and trained tens of thousands of Afghans who were part of the police forces and the national army. The cost of the mission has been very high, with thousands of deaths and injuries, in addition to billions of dollars spent. The final result could not be more discouraging, currently reaching a situation where the insurgents have taken over the country in just a few weeks and with hardly any opposition. It was inevitable? In this article we will analyze the only type of counterinsurgency campaign that had any chance of success and the reasons why it was not attempted. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want access to the full text, you can subscribe to [Keep reading…]

Just a few days ago we spoke to you in depth about the future logistics base of the Army and everything that has surrounded the decision to grant Córdoba the privilege of being its headquarters. Also about the conceptual errors that, a priori, a complex, controversial project seems to have, requiring a huge investment that is not assured. In the next lines we will delve into the technological part of the program, since what characterizes this project and differentiates it from previous initiatives is, among other things, the central role that technologies, in many cases disruptive, play in it. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

Thirty years ago, Saddam Hussein's regime began reckless military action by invading Kuwait. Confusing his desires with reality, he could not or would not see that taking said nation by force would turn the majority of the international community against him, whether for political or purely economic interests. When the most powerful air force of all time began bombing targets in Iraq, Saddam knew nothing but to flee forward, with a limited invasion of Saudi Arabia. It is in this context that the battle of al-Khafji takes place. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

Almost twenty years ago, at the end of 2001, the attention of the world's media was focused on what was the largest operation to capture or eliminate a single individual. Osama Bin Laden, accompanied by hundreds of followers who were part of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, along with members of the Afghan Taliban government, were fleeing harassment from the most capable military forces on the planet. Surrounded by a corner of Afghanistan very close to the border with Pakistan and known as Tora Bora, monitored by a constellation of satellites and bombed by the most powerful aerial means, despite having everything against them, they managed to escape and take refuge in the neighboring country. where he was lost track of for years. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Revista Ejercitos taking advantage of our offer to [Keep reading…]

The high cost of acquisition and use of armored vehicles in modern armies has led to the need to improve the required maintenance tasks. Predictive maintenance – also called condition-based maintenance – facilitates proactive logistics (before the breakdown occurs) by reducing corrective (repairs) and preventive (overhauls) maintenance tasks. Thanks to the sensors, the status of the armored systems can be monitored, allowing a precise diagnosis of their status and a forecast of their temporal evolution, with a view to making optimal logistical support decisions. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

In the summer of 2006, what began with a raid by Hezbollah commandos to kidnap Israeli soldiers and put pressure on the state of Israel, escalated in a totally unexpected way. All the preconceived limits by the politicians of both sides to avoid reaching an open confrontation fell one after another, until leading to a full-scale war. [Keep reading…]

In the last issue of Ejercitos Magazine we extensively analyzed the political-military situation in an area of ​​the planet as volatile as the Middle East. To complete this study, in this article we are going to describe one of the most significant milestones of recent years in the region, the war that took place in 2006 on the border between Lebanon and Israel and which faced the Israeli Defense Forces ( IDF) with the militiamen of the Hezbollah organization (Party of God). [Keep reading…]

Unknown to most, the battle of Marawi, fought between the Philippine military and an alliance of Islamist groups led by Abu Sayyaf and supported by Daesh, has marked a before and after in many ways. More than four months of fighting were necessary to expel a few hundred insurgents from the city who, taking advantage of the urban terrain, making massive use of small drones and barely using light weapons, managed to challenge an entire country. [Keep reading…]

Unknown to most, the battle of Marawi, fought between the Philippine military and an alliance of Islamist groups led by Abu Sayyaf and supported by Daesh, has marked a before and after in many ways. More than four months of fighting were necessary to expel a few hundred insurgents from the city who, taking advantage of the urban terrain, making massive use of small drones and barely using light weapons, managed to challenge an entire country. [Keep reading…]