CIA/Counterinsurgency

CIA Best Practices in Counterinsurgency  (SECRET STUFF FOR US )

Organisation: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Description
This is a secret CIA document assessing high-value targeting (HVT) programs world-wide for their impact
on insurgencies. The document is classified SECRET//NOFORN (no foreign nationals) and is for
internal use to review the positive and negative implications of targeted assassinations on these
groups for the strength of the group post the attack. The document assesses attacks on insurgent
groups by the United States and other countries within Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, Iraq, Israel,
Peru, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Libya, Pakistan and Thailand. The document, which
is "pro-assassination", was completed in July 2009 and coincides with the first year of the Obama
administration and Leon Panetta's directorship of the CIA during which the United States very
significantly increased its CIA assassination program at the expense of capture operations. It produces a
chart for US officials to use in strategically assessing future operations and methods in HVT assassinations.

 Making High-Value Targeting Operations an
Effective Counterinsurgency Tool (C//NF)

A CIA review of high-value targeting (HVT) programs worldwidea
suggests that HVT operations can play a useful role when they are part of a
broader counterinsurgency strategy. HVT operations are most likely to
contribute to successful counterinsurgency outcomes when governments
decide on a desired strategic outcome before beginning HVT operations,
analyze potential effects and shaping factors, and simultaneously employ
other military and nonmilitary counterinsurgency instruments.
• Potential positive strategic effects of HVT operations include eroding
insurgent effectiveness, weakening insurgent will, reducing the level of
insurgent support, fragmenting or splitting the insurgent group, altering
insurgent strategy or organization in ways that favor the government, and
strengthening government morale and support.
• Potential negative effects of HVT operations include increasing the level
of insurgent support, causing a government to neglect other aspects of its
counterinsurgency strategy, altering insurgent strategy or organization in
ways that favor the insurgents, strengthening an armed group’s bond with
the population, radicalizing an insurgent group’s remaining leaders,
creating a vacuum into which more radical groups can enter, and
escalating or deescalating a conflict in ways that favor the insurgents.
• The insurgent group factors that shape the impact of HVT operations
include the degree of leadership centralization, succession planning and
bench strength, level of visibility, life cycle stage, strength of cause and
popular support, and existence of sanctuary.
• Several government factors, including the duration and intensity of HVT
operations and the choice of HVT method, also affect the outcome of
HVT operations. (C//NF)

Our study of successful and unsuccessful uses of HVT programs in
counterinsurgencies identified several best practices that can be applied
when planning or evaluating HVT operations:
• Identifying Desired Outcome. Because HVT operations can have
unforeseen effects, governments tend to be most successful when they are
clear about the desired impact on the insurgent group’s trajectory.
• Basing Decisions on Knowledge of an Insurgent Group’s Internal
Workings. Governments’ successful use of HVT operations generally
draw on a deep understanding of the targeted group’s internal workings
and specific vulnerabilities, which is usually gained by penetrating the
group or debriefing defectors.
• Integrating HVT Operations With Other Elements of
Counterinsurgency Strategy. Governments with effective HVT
programs have integrated them into comprehensive counterinsurgency
strategies, the other elements of which could be adjusted to capitalize on
or compensate for the effects produced by HVT operations.
• Protecting Potential Moderates. Directing HVT operations against the
most violent and extremist leaders may increase the likelihood of an
eventual political settlement. Many insurgencies have internal divisions
between the more militant leaders and those more politically oriented.
• Capitalizing on Leadership Divisions. Exacerbating or exploiting
leadership fissures, for example by co-opting disaffected insurgent
leaders, can be as effective as targeting a group’s leadership throughmilitary action. (C//NF)

The paper aims to convey lessons learned, provide a framework for
evaluating the strategic utility of high-value targeting (HVT) operations,
and assist policymakers and military officers involved in authorizing or
planning HVT operations. Most of our source information relies on
clandestine and defense attache reporting, discussions with HVT
practitioners, a CIA-sponsored study on HVT operations in
counterinsurgencies, and our review of current and historical case
studies. (C//NF)
The two previous papers in the “Best Practices in Counterinsurgency”
series were OTI IA 2007-087 (Secret//NF), Making Insurgent
Defector Programs an Effective Counterinsurgency Tool (C//NF),
3 December 2007, and OTI IA 2007-016 (Secret//NF), Improving Security
Force Conduct (C//NF), 1 February 2007. (C//NF)

Making High-Value Targeting
Operations an Effective
Counterinsurgency Tool (C//NF)
Civilian and military leaders of governments
fighting insurgencies have often turned to highvalue
targeting (HVT) operations to achieve
objectives such as damaging an insurgent group by
depriving it of effective direction and experience,
deterring future guerrilla actions by demonstrating
the consequences, demoralizing rank-and-file
members, promoting perceptions of regime
viability in providing security, and imposing
punishments for past acts, according to a CIA
review of HVT programs worldwide. In evaluating
governments’ experiences with HVT programs, we
studied the cases of Afghanistan (2001-present),
Algeria (1954-62), Colombia (2002-present), Iraq
(2004-present), Israel (1972 to mid-1990s, mid-
1990s to present), Peru (1980-99), Northern
Ireland (1969-98), and Sri Lanka (1983-
May 2009). We drew additional examples from
Chechnya, Libya, Pakistan, and Thailand. (C//NF)
Potential Strategic Effects of HVT
Operations (C//NF)
A review of HVT operations in
counterinsurgencies worldwide suggests a range of
positive and negative potential effects on conflict
dynamics. Diverse variables, such as insurgent
group characteristics and government capabilities,
make predicting the consequences of HVT
operations difficult.
• Potential positive effects of HVT operations
include eroding insurgent effectiveness,
weakening insurgent will, reducing the level of
High-Value Targeting Defined (C//NF)
We define high-value targeting as focused
operations against specific individuals or networks
whose removal or marginalization should
disproportionately degrade an insurgent group’s
effectiveness. The criteria for designating highvalue
targets will vary according to factors such as
the insurgent group’s capabilities, structure, and
leadership dynamics and the government’s desired
outcome. (C//NF)
insurgent support, fragmenting or splitting the
insurgent group, altering insurgent strategy
or organization in ways that favor the
government, and strengthening government
morale and support.
• Potential negative effects of HVT operations
include increasing insurgent support, causing a
government to neglect other aspects of its
counterinsurgency strategy, provoking insurgents
to alter strategy or organization in ways that
favor the insurgents, strengthening an armed
group’s popular support with the population,
radicalizing an insurgent group’s remaining
leaders, and creating a vacuum into which more
radical groups can enter.
• HVT operations may, by eroding the “rules of
the game” between the government and
insurgents, escalate the level of violence in a
conflict, which may or may not be in a
government’s interest. (C//NF)

 Impact on Insurgents
Eroding Insurgent Effectiveness. HVT operations
can cause greater disruption than a group can
absorb when strikes outpace a group’s ability to
replace its leaders or when the strikes result in the
loss of individuals with critical skills such as
finance and logistics—who comprise a finite
quantity in any insurgency, according to our
review. HVT operations typically force remaining
leaders to increase their security discipline, which
may compromise a leader’s effectiveness.
• In Colombia, successful HVT strikes against
top insurgent leaders in early 2008, in
conjunction with earlier strikes against secondand
third-tier leaders and finance and logistics
specialists, substantially eroded the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s
(FARC) capabilities, according to clandestine,
Colombian National Police, and US Embassy in
Bogota reporting.1 2 3 4
• In Iraq, Jaysh Muhammad (JM) suffered a
significant setback in late 2004 after British
forces captured the head of JM and his
replacements in short succession, according to
the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate.5

• Usama bin Ladin’s measures to avoid
detection, including his reliance on lowtechnology
communications, his reluctance to
meet with subordinates, and his contentment
with leading from a sequestered distance via
infrequent contact, have affected his ability to
command his organization, according to detainee
reporting.6 7 8 9 10 11 (S//NF)
Weakening Insurgent Will. Leadership losses can
erode morale at all levels of the insurgency and
reinforce the costs and risks of involvement,
especially when no clear succession plan is in
place. The March 2008 death of FARC Secretariat
member Raul Reyes is likely to have seriously
damaged FARC discipline and morale, even
among its leadership, according to a CIA field
commentary.12 Within a week of Reyes’ death,
Secretariat member Ivan Rios was killed by a
bodyguard, and in May 2008 a veteran FARC
commander and ideologue surrendered.13
• Rank-and-file morale also suffered when
HAMAS failed in 2004 to announce the name of
its new leader following the deaths of Sheikh
Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, according to
an academic terrorism expert.14 (S//NF)
Changing the Level of Insurgent Support. The
death or capture of key insurgents may lead to
reduced domestic or foreign support for the group,
as supporters recalculate the insurgent group’s
chances of winning the conflict and consider the
potential costs of backing the losing side. Such a
phenomenon is enhanced when leadership strikes
coincide with other counterinsurgency successes.
• Malaysia’s arrest in 1998 of four top leaders of
the southern Thai separatist insurgent group
Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO),
in concert with civil-military programs and an
expanded amnesty, led to substantial increases in
separatist defections and a decline in domestic
support for the group, according to reporting
from the US Embassy in Bangkok.15 16 17 (C//NF)
HVT strikes, however, may increase support for
the insurgents, particularly if these strikes enhance
insurgent leaders’ lore, if noncombatants are killed
in the attacks, if legitimate or semilegitimate
politicians aligned with the insurgents are targeted,
or if the government is already seen as overly
repressive or violent. Because of the psychological
nature of insurgency, either side’s actions are
less important than how events are perceived by
key audiences inside and outside the country,
according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency.18
• Israeli HVT efforts from 2000 to 2002
strengthened solidarity between terrorist groups
and bolstered popular support for hardline
militant leaders, according to US Embassy
officials in Jerusalem and clandestine
reporting.19 20 21 22 23 (S//NF)

Fragmenting or Splitting the Insurgent Group.
The removal or marginalization of unifying leaders
can exacerbate divisions in a group and cause it to
fragment. This potential for fragmenting is
especially pronounced when insurgent
organizations are made up of coalitions of groups
or factions.
• The deaths of two senior Libyan Islamic Fighting
Group (LIFG) leaders in a US missile strike in
January 2008 are probably hindering the group’s
merger with al-Qa‘ida and exacerbating divisions
between the LIFG’s North Africa– and Europebased
members.24 25 (S//NF)
Altering Insurgent Strategy or Organization. By
altering internal divisions, an HVT program may
cause an insurgent group to change its goals and
strategy. For example, degradation of an insurgent
group’s leadership may lead the group to shift
from pursuing political goals to engaging in
criminal activity, according to an academic expert
on counterinsurgency.26
• The Iraqi Government has been using HVT
efforts to eliminate irreconcilable Sadrist militant
leaders and moderate the Sadrist movement.27
• In Chechnya, Russia’s HVT efforts between
2002 and 2006 precluded political resolution of
the conflict and centralized control of the
insurgent movement under jihadist faction leader
Shamil Basayev, according to an academic
expert on counterinsurgency.28 (C//NF)
Some insurgencies adapt to leadership losses by
adopting a decentralized organizational structure
and taking other measures to improve operational
security. HVT efforts can force an insurgency with
an aboveground political or propaganda wing to go
purely underground to protect its leaders.
• The arrest of four senior PULO leaders in 1998
prompted another southern Thai insurgent group,
the Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate
(BRN-C), to decentralize command and control
to improve operational security, according to
reporting from the US Embassy in
Bangkok.29 (C//NF)
Impact on Governments
Conducting HVT operations can positively or
negatively affect a government’s
counterinsurgency effort, for example by
strengthening the morale of and support for the
government or by misdirecting government focus.
Because both insurgents and counterinsurgents
communicate with the wider audience as they
fight, a government may find that HVT successes
send a message to the government’s supporters
that the state is taking serious steps to attack
the insurgency.
• Public support for the Colombian Government
solidified in the wake of the killing of FARC
Secretariat member Raul Reyes in March 2008,
with President Alvaro Uribe’s approval rating
increasing from the mid-70-percent range to as
high as 84 percent, according to a US press
report and a CIA field commentary.30 31 (S//NF)
HVT operations can capture the attention of
policymakers and military planners to the extent
that a government loses its strategic perspective on
the conflict or neglects other key aspects of
counterinsurgency. Since 2004, the Thai
Government’s fixation on targeting southern
insurgent leaders—which in the late 1990s proved
effective against an earlier generation of
insurgents—has caused Bangkok to misperceive
the decentralized nature of the movement and miss
opportunities to counter it, according to reporting
from the US Embassy in Bangkok.32 (C//NF)
Diverse Factors Shape the Contributions of
HVT Operations to Counterinsurgency
Outcomes (C//NF
Insurgent group characteristics, such as
organizational structure, and government factors,
such as the effectiveness of military and
nonmilitary counterinsurgency instruments, shape
an insurgent group’s vulnerability to leadership
losses, according to a review of HVT operations worldwide. (C//NF)

Insurgent Group Factors
Structure. Groups are most susceptible to
leadership losses when they are centralized and
personality driven, according to our study, and
organizations with more decentralized structures,
such as HAMAS and al-Qa‘ida, usually have more
capacity to adapt and regenerate after suffering
losses from HVT operations. Effective insurgent
leaders possess a rare combination of initiative,
charisma, strategic vision, and communications
skills, according to former insurgents.33
• The Taliban’s military structure blends a topdown
command system with an egalitarian
Afghan tribal structure that rules by
consensus, making the group more able to
withstand HVT operations, according to
clandestine and US military reporting.34 35 36 37 38
39 40 41 42 43 44 45
• Like al-Qa‘ida networks outside Iraq, al-Qa‘ida
in Iraq (AQI) as of late 2008 delegated
considerable operational control to local leaders,
a practice that, until early 2007, allowed AQI to
weather leadership losses such as the death of
Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, according to clandestine
and US diplomatic reporting.46 47 48
• Peru’s Shining Path, which was highly
centralized and based on a cult of personality,
could not recover from the 1992 capture of
founder Abimael Guzman and most of the
group’s senior leaders. (S//NF)
Succession Planning and Bench Strength.
Insurgent groups’ succession planning, breadth and
depth of military and political competence, and
ability to elevate promising commanders through
their ranks contribute to their resilience to HVT
operations. The Taliban and al-Qa‘ida can most
likely replace lost leaders, especially at the middle
level. Numerous al-Qa‘ida leaders oversee external
operations, minimizing the disruptive impact of
individual losses, according to clandestine
reports.49 50 (C//NF)
Level of Visibility. Leadership losses may have
different effects on insurgent groups using
strategies requiring a public face than on highly
clandestine groups. The loss of visible public
figures has wider psychological repercussions than
the loss of underground leaders, according to an
academic expert on counterinsurgency.51
• Since Hizballah and HAMAS carry out state-like
functions, such as providing health-care services,
these groups’ leaders have prominent public
profiles. The public may have little awareness of
the leaders of clandestine groups such as AQI,
which exercise limited parallel governance
roles. (C//NF)
Life Cycle Stage. Insurgencies, like other
organizations, are more fragile and more
dependent on a few individuals during their
formative stage—or late in their life cycle when
they are in decline—than during their mature
middle stage, according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency.52 (C//NF)
Cause and Popular Support. An insurgent group’s
unifying cause, deep ties to its constituency, or a
broad support base can lessen the impact of
leadership losses by ensuring a steady flow of
replacement recruits, according to academic
experts on counterinsurgency.53 54 HAMAS’s
highly disciplined nature, social service network,
and reserve of respected leaders allowed it
to reorganize after the killing of leaders
Sheikh Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in
2004, according to the International Crisis
Group.55 56 (C//NF)
Existence of Sanctuary. Internal and external
sanctuaries often provide major advantages to
insurgent groups, according to an academic expert
on counterinsurgency,57 sometimes allowing a
group’s leader to evade government forces for
decades. Strikes in previously impenetrable
sanctuaries can produce disproportionate effects
such as demoralization of remaining leaders

• Sanctuary provided by Iran allows Iraq’s Sadrist
militants to train, rearm, recuperate, and evade
capture, according to US military and clandestine
reporting.58 59 60
• In southern Thailand, the temporary loss of
longstanding Malaysian sanctuary in 1998 was a
major factor in the collapse of PULO’s armed
wing during this period, according to the US
Embassy in Bangkok.61 62 (S//NF)
Government Factors
Duration and Intensity of HVT Operations.
Extensive and protracted HVT operations can
substantially degrade an insurgency, as military
pressure on the group outpaces its ability to replace
leaders. Short or inconsistently conducted HVT
campaigns may weed out insurgents who are less
security conscious or not as important, while
sparing the most-talented ones.
• In Iraq, the June 2006 death of Abu Musab alZarqawi
produced no initial drop in AQI attacks,
but the strike’s impact on Sunni perceptions may
have helped the Awakening Movement become a
viable force in mid-2006, according to an
academic expert on counterinsurgency.63 AQI
had suppressed this movement’s earlier attempts
to organize in 2005, according to the same
academic expert.64 (C//NF)
Choice of HVT Method. Governments can use
variables such as culture and the likelihood of
collateral damage to assess whether desired effects
produced by HVT methods are best achieved by
capturing insurgent leaders, using psychological
operations to marginalize them, or conducting
kinetic strikes. Captures help to demythologize
insurgent leaders in cultures with a strong warrior
ethos, according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency, and may be preferable because
of insurgent leaders’ interrogation value.65
• Capture or refraining from lethal operations may
be warranted if the government’s goal is to
integrate an insurgent group into the political
process. For example, the Iraqi Government has
chosen not to target Muqtada al-Sadr and many
of his top aides because of political sensitivities,
according to clandestine reports.66 67
• Capturing leaders may have a limited
psychological impact on a group if members
believe that captured leaders will eventually
return to the group, according to an academic
expert on counterinsurgency, or if those leaders
are able to maintain their influence while in
government custody, as Nelson Mandela did
while incarcerated in South Africa. (S//NF)
The tendency of some insurgent groups to adapt to
HVT efforts by becoming more decentralized
suggests that a functional approach to targeting,
aimed at sources of insurgent strength such as
logistics and finances, can in some circumstances
be more effective than targeting the group’s
leadership structure. Similarly, targeting top
leaders may be politically impossible if a
government has decided that a group should be
managed rather than targeted for total defeat, as in
the case of Baghdad’s approach to Sadrist
militants. In these cases, a government may adopt
a pruning approach intended to stunt an
organization’s growth, interrupt sources of supply,
or isolate portions of an insurgent network.
• AQI’s top leaders exercise strategic control of
the organization but delegate attack planning to
local leaders, allowing operations to continue
even when leadership positions are vacant,
according to clandestine and US military
reporting.68 69 70 71 72 Removing individuals who
are important to the organization’s core
functions—such as those running its carbombing
networks—has had a more
demonstrable effect on AQI than disruptions of
its senior command.
• A pruning approach can be used to remove
effective midlevel leaders, protect incompetent
leaders or restore them to positions of authority,
separate insurgent personalities from potential
sources of government sponsorship, or protect
human sources that are collecting intelligence onthe networks. (S//NF)

Best Practices Offer Guidelines in Planning
HVT Operations (C//NF)
Governments successful in their use of HVT
operations have placed a measured degree of
emphasis on them while not neglecting other
aspects of counterinsurgency strategy, according to
our review. We identified several best practices
that can be applied when planning or evaluating
HVT operations. (C//NF)
Identifying Desired Outcome. Because HVT
operations can have unforeseen effects, such as
empowering radical leaders, operations tend to be
most successful when governments are clear about
the desired impact on the insurgent group’s
trajectory. If a government’s goal is a negotiated
resolution of the conflict, officials may want to
avoid HVT or adopt a pruning strategy, instead
placing emphasis on drawing the insurgents into
the political process.
• An aggressive HVT strategy risks fragmenting
an insurgency or causing it to devolve into
terrorist or criminal activity, according to an
academic expert on counterinsurgency.73 (C//NF)
Basing Decisions on Knowledge of an Insurgent
Group’s Internal Workings. Governments’
successful use of HVT operations—such as the
British strategy in Northern Ireland that led to a
peace settlement—generally draws on a deep
understanding of the targeted group’s internal
workings and specific vulnerabilities, which is
usually gained by penetrating the group or
debriefing defectors. Social, ethnic, or ideological
differences among leaders and members and
within leadership groups offer vulnerabilities to
exploit, according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency.74
• Information from high-level Irish Republican
Army (IRA) assets, including the head of the
group’s internal security unit, allowed British
military intelligence to undermine the IRA,
according to a Western press report.75 (C//NF)
Integrating HVT Operations With Other
Elements of Counterinsurgency Strategy.
Governments successful in their use of HVT
operations have integrated them into broader
counterinsurgency strategies. How well a
government conducts the other military and
nonmilitary elements of its counterinsurgency
campaign is a major factor that shapes the HVT
programs’ contributions to overall
counterinsurgency success, according to our
review. Governments can adjust these elements to
capitalize on or compensate for the effects
produced by HVT operations.
• HVT strikes can complement conventional
military operations by establishing an overall
operational tempo, for example by setting the
stage for follow-on activities such as clearing
operations in insurgent-held territory.
• In Iraq, counterinsurgency operations
emboldened a Sunni backlash against AQI,
which magnified the impact of HVT operations
by spurring defections and limiting AQI’s ability
to recruit new members and reconstitute after
losses, according to clandestine and US
diplomatic reporting.76 77 78 79
• Colombia has used HVT operations since
2002 in concert with information operations
and conventional military operations,
including efforts to extend the reach of
governance, amnesty, reward, and defector
programs, according to a CIA field
commentary.80 81 (S//NF)
Protecting Potential Moderates. Directing HVT
operations against the most violent and extremist
leaders may increase the likelihood of an eventual
political settlement. Most insurgencies have
internal divisions between the more militant and
more politically oriented leaders, according to
academic experts on counterinsurgency.82 83
• The British may have used an HVT strategy over
a substantial period of time to moderate the IRA
leadership by protecting Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness while allowing some of their
radical rivals to be eliminated, according to a
book by an Irish journalist.84 85
• The French in Algeria may have diminished
chances for a negotiated solution when they
inadvertently strengthened the hand of radical
Algeria-based National Liberation Front (FLN)
leaders by capturing the moderate, externally
based, and nominal FLN chief Ahmad Ben Bella
in 1956, according to academic experts on
counterinsurgency.86 87 (C//NF)
Capitalizing on Leadership Divisions.
Exacerbating or exploiting leadership fissures, for
example by co-opting disaffected insurgent
leaders, can be as effective as targeting a group’s
leadership militarily. The Sri Lankan Government
achieved substantial gains when it exploited a
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leadership split
by cooperating with Colonel Karuna, leader of a
breakaway faction in the country’s Eastern
Province.88 (C//NF)

Appendix A
Selected High-Value Targeting Cases (U)
Afghanistan—Taliban, 2001-Present
The Coalition has led a sustained effort since 2001 to
target Taliban leaders, but the government’s limited
influence outside of Kabul has impeded integration of
high-value targeting (HVT) efforts with other military
and nonmilitary counterinsurgency elements, such as
reconciliation programs. Afghan Government
corruption and lack of unity, insufficient strength of
Afghan and NATO security forces, and the country’s
endemic lawlessness have constrained the
effectiveness of these counterinsurgency elements.
Senior Taliban leaders’ use of sanctuary in Pakistan
has also complicated the HVT effort. Moreover, the
Taliban has a high overall ability to replace lost
leaders, a centralized but flexible command and
control overlaid with egalitarian Pashtun structures,
and good succession planning and bench strength,
especially at the middle levels, according to
clandestine and US military reporting.89 90 91 92 93 94 95
96 97 98 99 100 (S//NF)
Algeria—FLN, 1954-62
The National Liberation Front (FLN) began a revolt
in 1954 against French rule in Algeria with the goal
of establishing an independent state. The group’s
campaign of urban terrorism, intended to provoke a
French overreaction that targeted the general Algerian
population, succeeded, and the resulting loss of
civilians increased the FLN’s popularity, according to
an academic study.101 French efforts to target FLN
leaders included intelligence-driven commando raids
on insurgent hideouts, according to a former
insurgent,102 and culminated in the 1956 capture of
FLN chief Ahmad Ben Bella and four other top
leaders during a flight from Rabat to Tunis.103 104 Ben
Bella was a relative moderate among the FLN
leadership, and his capture enhanced the influence of
radical Algeria-based leaders, according to academic
studies.105 106 French military gains from 1956 to
1958 shifted the conflict sharply against the
insurgents, according to a RAND study.107 However,
the draconian measures taken to quell the insurgency
eroded French domestic and international support for
the effort, resulting in Algeria achieving
independence in 1962, according to the RAND
study.108 (C//NF)
Colombia—FARC, 2002-Presentb

For most of Colombia’s history, political transitions
have resulted from successful insurrections by the
party out of power, according to a research institute
study.109 The Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC), a Marxist-Leninist insurgent
organization, began waging a guerrilla war in 1964
and uses the drug trade to support its military and
political activities. President Alvaro Uribe, following
his 2001 inauguration, made targeting senior and
midlevel FARC leaders a major element of Bogota’s
counterinsurgency campaign. After several years of
failures and near misses, Bogota began a series of
successful HVT strikes in 2007, following
improvements in intelligence, strike accuracy,
mission planning and deployment, operational
security, and interservice coordination, according to
US Embassy in Bogota reporting.110 Colombia has
effectively integrated the HVT effort into its broader
counterinsurgency strategy and has capitalized on the
psychological impact produced by the strikes to boost
the government’s legitimacy and to erode insurgent
morale, according to a body of clandestine,
Colombian National Police, and US Embassy in
Bogota reporting.111 112 113 114 115 (C//NF)
Iraq—AQI, 2004-Present
Al-Qa‘ida in Iraq (AQI)—earlier known as the
Zarqawi network—became a primary focus of
Coalition HVT operations in early 2004 as the group
began to release public statements and jockey for
primacy in the Iraqi insurgency. AQI initially lost
several iterations of its senior leadership and

b
 Colombia’s counterinsurgency campaign has been
waged since 1964, but our survey looked only at
Colombia’s recent HVT efforts. (U)

numerous local emirs, but these losses initially did
little to slow AQI’s momentum, according to
clandestine and US diplomatic reporting.116 117 118
HVT operations in 2007, however, complemented
broader Coalition and Iraqi Sunni actions against
AQI, such as efforts to cut AQI off from its support
base, and have contributed to its decline since that
time, according to clandestine and US diplomatic
reporting.119 120 121 122 (S//NF)
Israel—Hizballah and HAMAS, Mid-1990sPresent

In the mid-1990s, Israel’s targeting efforts shifted
from secular rejectionist groups to Islamist militant
enemies, culminating in a targeted-killings campaign
during the Second Intifada. In contrast to the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and secular
rejectionist groups, HAMAS and Hizballah presented
Israel with decentralized command structures,
compartmented leadership, strong succession
planning, and deep ties to their communities, making
the groups highly resilient to leadership losses,
according to the International Crisis Group.123 124 The
absence of other counterinsurgency measures such as
amnesty programs limited the HVT programs’
contributions to Israel’s overall security efforts,
according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency.125 (C//NF)
Israel—PLO and Secular Rejectionist Groups,
1972–Mid-1990s
Following the killing of 11 Israeli athletes during the
Munich Olympics in September 1972 by the Black
September faction of the PLO Fatah organization,
Israeli leaders initiated a multidecade effort to
eliminate PLO leaders. The subsequent killings of
suspected PLO militants across Europe and the
Middle East included low-ranking officials with
questionable connections to the Munich events, as
well as a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway,
who had no connection to terrorism, according to a
book by a British journalist.126 The program’s secrecy
prevented its integration with other diplomatic and
military initiatives. International pressure following
the July 1973 death of the Moroccan waiter forced
Israel to curtail the effort.127 The PLO had a highly
centralized and personality-driven command structure
that made it vulnerable to leadership strikes, but the
limited number of successful Israeli strikes suggests
that group’s strong operational security protected it
against the loss of top figures. (C//NF)
Northern Ireland—IRA, 1969-98
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) emerged from the
Anglo-Irish War of 1919-21 and has pursued the
political objective of a united Ireland on behalf of
nationalists among the Catholic minority, according
to an academic study.128 “The Troubles” in Northern
Ireland began in 1969 and ended with the 1998 Good
Friday Agreement. Extensive high-level penetrations
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (commonly
referred to as IRA) gave the British visibility into the
group’s leadership dynamics, internal ideological
conflicts, and operational plans, according to a US
press report and a book by an Irish journalist.129 130
IRA leader Gerry Adams initiated a secret peace
dialog with the British in 1986 in which he identified
himself as far outside the mainstream IRA leadership
in his willingness to accept an eventual nonviolent
settlement of the conflict, according to the same book
by an Irish journalist.131 This dialog suggests that the
British saw an interest in protecting him and members
of his faction, which included Martin McGuinness.
Acting on intelligence gained through penetrations,
the British eliminated some radical IRA members
who could have obstructed the peace process or
challenged the Adams faction for leadership of the
group, according to the same book by an Irish
journalist.132 (C//NF)
Peru—Shining Path, 1980-99
Abimael Guzman, a philosophy professor and
administrator at a provincial university, founded the
Maoist insurgent group Sendero Luminoso (Shining
Path or SL) in 1970.133 SL launched an armed
struggle in 1980, seeking to topple Peru’s social order
and to impose a new utopian society. From 1980 to
1992, the group was a dogmatic, centralized, and
disciplined movement that revolved around its
charismatic leader, who skillfully maintained control
of SL’s leadership cadre through manipulation,
according to an academic expert on
counterinsurgency.134 135 In what may be a
government’s most decisive use of HVT, according to
an academic expert on counterinsurgency, Lima’s
security forces managed to capture Guzman and
almost all of the group’s senior leadership in a brief
period beginning in September 1992.136 SL remnants
have tried to regain traction since the early 1990s but
have been unable to overcome the setbacks of a
movement built around a cult of personality. (C//NF)
Sri Lanka—LTTE, 1983-May 2009
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sought
autonomy for the Tamils of northern and eastern Sri
Lanka since the group’s inception in 1972. Velupillai
Prabhakaran, a radical student, founded the group in
response to the adoption of a new constitution
institutionalizing Sinhalese domination, according to
an academic study.137 The LTTE became one of the
world’s most ruthless and resourceful ethnonationalist
insurgent movements, fighting the Sri Lankan
Government to a stalemate that led to a cease-fire in
2002. The LTTE used the lapse in fighting to rearm
and train, resuming hostilities in mid-2004, according
to a research institute study.138 In response, Colombo
has stepped up efforts to target top LTTE leadership.
The Sri Lankan Air Force, in November 2007 and
January 2008, used antibunker bombs to target
Prabhakaran and other top LTTE leaders, according
to a clandestine source claiming firsthand access.139
Geocoordinate information provided by a former
bodyguard of Prabhakaran’s contributed to an
accurate Sri Lankan military bombing raid that killed
LTTE political spokesman S.P. Tamilchelvan and
other LTTE leaders on 2 November 2007, according
to a clandestine source with whom a relationship was
just beginning.140 The Sri Lankan Government
claimed to have killed Prabhakaran and most of the
LTTE’s senior leadership in conventional military
operations in April and May 2009, according to a US
military report and a Western press report.141
142(S//NF)
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A Framework for Use in Planning or Evaluating High-Value Targeting Operations (C//NF)
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This framework, which can be used when considering the introduction of a high-value targeting (HVT) program or
evaluating one already under way, outlines potential strategic effects of HVT operations, factors that shape HVT
programs’ effectiveness, and best practices identified in a review of current and historical HVT programs. (C//NF)

Potential Strategic Effects of HVT Operations (C//NF)
Eroding Insurgent Effectiveness. HVT operations can cause greater disruption than a group can absorb when military
pressure outpaces a group’s ability to replace its leaders or results in the loss of individuals with critical skills. (C//NF)
Weakening Insurgent Will. Leadership losses can erode morale at all levels and reinforce the costs and risks of involvement,
especially when the group has no clear succession plan in place. (C//NF)
Changing the Level of Insurgent Support. The death or capture of key insurgents may lead to reduced domestic or foreign
support for the group, as supporters recalculate the insurgent group’s chances of winning the conflict, or may increase
support for the insurgents, particularly if these strikes enhance insurgent leaders’ lore. (C//NF)
Fragmenting or Splitting the Insurgent Group. The removal or marginalization of unifying leaders can exacerbate divisions
in a group and cause it to fragment, particularly when the group is made up of coalitions or factions. (C//NF)
Altering Insurgent Strategy or Organization. An HVT program may lead an insurgent group to change its goals and
strategy. By altering internal divisions, an HVT program may push an insurgency toward a more moderate or militant
approach. Some insurgencies adapt to leadership losses by adopting a flat organizational structure and taking other
measures to improve operational security, such as dismantling an aboveground political wing. (C//NF)
Strengthening Government Morale and Support. Because both insurgents and counterinsurgents communicate with the
wider audience as they fight, a government may find that HVT successes send a message to the government’s supporters
that the state is taking serious steps to attack the insurgency. (C//NF)
Misdirecting Government Focus. HVT operations can capture the attention of policymakers and military planners
to the extent that a government loses its strategic perspective on the conflict or neglects other key aspects of
counterinsurgency. (C//NF)

Best Practices in HVT Operations (C//NF)
Identifying Desired Outcome. Because HVT operations can have unforeseen effects, governments tend to be most
successful when they are clear about the desired impact on the insurgent group’s trajectory. (C//NF)
Basing Decisions on Knowledge of an Insurgent Group’s Internal Workings. Governments’ successful use of HVT
operations generally draw on a deep understanding of the targeted group’s internal workings and specific vulnerabilities,
which is usually gained by penetrating the group or debriefing defectors. (C//NF)
Integrating HVT Operations With Other Elements of Counterinsurgency Strategy. Governments with effective HVT
programs have integrated them into comprehensive counterinsurgency strategies, the other elements of which could be
adjusted to capitalize on and compensate for the effects produced by HVT operations. (C//NF)
Protecting Potential Moderates. Directing HVT operations against the most violent and extremist leaders may increase the
likelihood of an eventual political settlement. Most insurgencies have internal divisions between the more militant leaders and
those more politically oriented. (C//NF)
Capitalizing on Leadership Divisions. Exacerbating or exploiting leadership fissures, for example by co-opting disaffected
insurgent leaders, can be as effective as targeting a group’s leadership militarily. (C//NF)

Factors Shaping the Contributions of HVT Operations to Counterinsurgency
Outcomes (C//NF)
Insurgent Group Factors
Structure. Groups are most susceptible to leadership losses when they are centralized and personality driven, while
organizations with more decentralized structures usually have more capacity to adapt and regenerate after suffering
leadership losses. (C//NF)
Succession Planning and Bench Strength. Insurgent groups’ succession planning, breadth and depth of military and
political competence, and ability to elevate promising commanders through their ranks contribute to their resilience. (C//NF)
Level of Visibility. Leadership losses may have different effects against insurgent groups using strategies requiring a public
face than on highly clandestine groups. (C//NF)
Life Cycle Stage. Insurgencies, like other organizations, are more fragile and more dependent on a few individuals during
their formative stage or late in their life cycle when they are in decline. (C//NF)
Cause and Popular Support. A unifying cause, deep ties to its constituency, or a broad support base can lessen the impact
of leadership losses by ensuring a steady flow of replacement recruits. (C//NF)
Existence of Sanctuary. HVT efforts are likely to be less effective when insurgents have an external sanctuary or when
political factors prevent them from being killed or captured. (C//NF)
Government Factors
Duration and Intensity of HVT Operations. Because the effects of HVT operations may not be visible for some time,
governments may need to sustain the operations as long as there is a strategic rationale. Extensive and protracted HVT
operations can substantially degrade an insurgency, but short or erratically conducted HVT campaigns may weed out only the
less security-conscious insurgents. (C//NF)
Choice of HVT Method. Governments can use variables such as culture and the likelihood of collateral damage to determine
whether capturing or using psychological operations to marginalize insurgent leaders is more likely to produce desired effects
than kinetic strikes. Targeting sources of insurgent strength, for example logistics and finances, may be more effective than
targeting the leadership of a decentralized group. (C//NF)
Visibility Into Group. A government’s visibility into an insurgent group’s inner workings, such as leadership dynamics and the
distribution of critical skills, can improve HVT outcomes. (C//NF)
Effectiveness of Other Military and Nonmilitary Counterinsurgency Instruments. How well a government conducts the
non-HVT elements of its counterinsurgency campaign and how integrated the HVT program is with other elements will shapethe impact of the HVT effort. (C//NF)