Procedures and Methods of Internal Security in Domestic Insurrection Organizatio: A Technology Monogram for Law Enforcement

Historically, the success of an insurrection movement is determined by how long it takes before law enforcement attempts to penetrate its organization. In the startup phase (interdiction), staying under the radar for as long as possible is very important, thereby allowing internal security organs of the organization to be established and trained, to offer reasonable protection against agents. Consequently, a major consideration in the startup of an insurrection is the methods of internal security and how to minimize the effects from penetration by agents during this vulnerable time. The structure of an organization is designed to maximize internal security, and so must be structured to minimize penetration by any agents, but when penetrated, to detect those agents as soon as possible to minimize damage. With future domestic insurrection groups, law enforcement can expect a substantially higher quality of personnel, in terms of both intellectual skills and technology capabilities, compared with previous movements from both the right and left. This monogram details how an organization should be structured to give maximum protection against counterintelligence operations attempting to penetrate the organization and insert agents. Since the techniques for penetrating an insurrection movement is the same as for an espionage operation, we can learn by studying the history of spying, in particular an area called tradecraft, which refers to the techniques and procedures used by an undercover agent to operate undetected within a target organization. The campaign of Michael Collins (who invented the modern insurrection), to liberate Ireland from British rule in 1919-22 offers considerable understanding about the organization of an insurrection. At the start of the Irish revolution, Michael Collins' first order of business was to ferret out police intelligence moles or agents, and in doing this wrecked British efforts to subdue the revolution. Studying the history of Michael Collins and the IRA is a must for any real understanding of modern insurrections and how they are organized. Additionally, much can be learned, both by law enforcement and insurrectionist, from the study of organized crime in America. The decades of organized crime's success can be directly attributed to the Costa Nostra's rules and procedures for internal security established at the turn of the twentieth century, and long before coming onto law enforcement's radar. Other insurrection and resistance movements such as the French Maquis, Dutch resistance in World War II as well as the Filipino resistance against the Japanese, and later insurrection movements such as Castro's Cuban operations, the Mau Mau movement and Malaya insurrection, provide further understanding of the needs and problems of internal security measures for any insurrection group. As we shall see in this monogram, if at startup a concerted insurrection researches the history of modern insurrections to learn how to correctly organize and operate, then law enforcement will find itself facing a major, if not overwhelming dilemma.