INTRODUCTION

War is about an organized conflict between states with another state for some
purposes. The war usually used the weapons or any technological depends on that era to get
their objectives. There are many and different kind of activities relating to the content which
covered the general term war itself. As a result, it is not easy to say how many wars are going
on in this world at the moment.
War was seen as something very simple and straightforward. It was seen as a mere
tool for getting power, territories, resources, religions and other political things or beliefs that
will give benefits and advantages to the parties involved. But as time went on, a lot of
philosophers, thinkers and strategists started to see that war is not that simple. There were a
few famous philosophers or strategists that were and still are famous until now for their
contribution in managing to identify and point out the levels of war to the world. These levels
of war are very important and helpful in managing and organizing the things in a wartime so
that a lot of things can go smoothly and every action that were discussed and agreed to be
taken or performed can be done effectively and efficiently.

WHAT IS WAR ABOUT?

There is the purpose for the war that we can define it which is:
a) The establishment and expansion of the empire
War is intended for strengthening the sovereignty and the power of politic based on
the anarchy on the early stages of human civilization. In ancient times, the area is regarded as
a yardstick imperial glory of a system of government. The wider empire can enhance the
grandeur and glory of a king. Therefore, the state going to war will have the desire to expand
their empire in order to reinforce their power around the world.

b) Disarm the enemy

The objectives of the war also is about to disarm the enemy. The enemy must be put
in the uncomfortable condition. This is because to make sure they cannot hold on some area
for a long time or at least put them in a dangerous position. If not, the enemy will not fear or
surrender and will go to the war to fight again. As the Clausewitz said So long as I have not
overthrown my opponent I am bound to fear he may overthrow me. Bring the enemy to a
state that is no longer possible to implement the war is much broader category than simply
destroying the enemys military strength. It is expected the state would determine the spirit or
the willpower enemies to fight.1 He said that on war theory formulation which he wrote into
a book titled ON WAR. He also reminded that the contact force in the war cannot be avoided
and the best ways to cut the cost, shortening the time, and evade the bloodshed is make an
attack as soon as possible and the victory will defined ultimately.

1 http://www.fkpmaritim.org/falsafah-dan-teori-perang-warisan-carl-vonclausewitz-yang-masih-relevan-sampai-saat-ini/
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c) The Coup de Etat

Sometimes they try to get in into the war because they want to have a wider territory
and power to become a great nation. So coup de etat was one of the ways that they used to get
the power. On 1799, although Napoleon Bonaparte was 30 years old, he had managed to seize
the power and make himself was the most powerful man in France. A month after he came
back from the Egypt, the public opinion make Napoleon can topple the government of
Director Agency. He agreed with Sieyes, who is one of the directors to surround the
Assembly Hall. He brought his loyal army to attack at there. On 9 th and 10th November 1799,
he successfully fights the government and appointed himself as the highest military leader.
After the coup happened, a declaration on a new constitution which is the General Napoleon
Bonaparte was appointed as the first Consul for the Republic of France. From here we can
see that everybody can have their own power to get a position if they know how to make it.

TYPES OF WAR
Starting from the very largest wars, we may classify the following main categories.
Hegemonic war, can be described as a war over control of the entire world order meaning
the rules or controlling events of the international system as a whole, including the role of
world hegemony. Where the definition of hegemony itself is the dominance or authority over
others, in this particular topic is based on political or cultural dominance. This class of wars
with the variations on definition and conception is also known as world war, global war,
general war, or systematic war. In the past events, we can see the example of hegemonic war
which was the World War II. This kind of war probably cannot occur any longer without
destroying civilization.
Total war is a kind of warfare by one state waged to conquer and occupy another. The
main goal is to achieve the capital city and force the surrender of the government, which can
then be substituted with one of the conquerors choosing. Total war as we know, it began with
the mass destruction of the past Napoleonic Wars, which introduced large scale mobilization
and geared the entire French national economy toward the war struggle. In total war, with the
entire society mobilized for the struggle, the entire society of the enemy is considered a
legitimate target.
Limited war includes military actions carried out to gain some objective short or
mission of the surrender and occupation of the enemy itself. For instance, the U.S. led the
limited war against Iraq in 1991 which regained the territory of Kuwait but did not go on to
Baghdad to overthrow Saddam Husseins government. Many border wars have this character
when occupying the land it wants, a state may stop and defend its gains, as what Russia did
after expelling Georgian troops from disputed Georgian Provinces in 2008, for instance.

Raids are limited wars that consist of a single action in a bombing run or a quick
invasion by land. In 2007, Israeli warplanes bombed a facility in Syria that Israel believed to
be a nuclear research facility. Raids fall into the gray are between wars and non wars because
their destruction is limited and they are over quickly. Raiding that is repeated or fuels a cycle
of retaliation usually becomes a limited war or what is sometimes called low intensity
conflict.
Civil war refers to war between groups within a state trying to create, or prevent, a
new government for the entire state or some territorial part of it. The purpose may be to
change the entire system of government, to simply replace the people in it, or to split a region
off as a new state. The U.S. Civil War of the 1860s is a good example of a secessionist civil
war. The war in El Salvador in the 1980s is an example of a civil war for control of the entire
state which not secessionist. Civil wars often seem to be among the most brutal wars. The
50,000 or more deaths in the civil war in El Salvador, including many from massacres and
death squads, were not based on ethnic differences. Of course, many of todays civil wars
occur from ethnic conflicts as well. In Chad, for example, a rebel group composed of rival
clans to the presidents nearly overthrew the government in 2007. Supporting a civil war
usually requires a source of support for rebels, from neighbouring states, displacement ethnic
communities, or income from natural resources or illegal drugs.
Guerrilla war, which includes certain types of civil wars, guerrilla is warfare without
front lines. Irregular forces operate in the centre of, and often hidden or protected by, civilian
populations. The purpose is not to directly confront an enemy army but rather to harass and
punish it so as to slowly limit its operation and effectively release territory from its control.
Rebels in most civil wars use such methods. U.S. military forces in South Vietnam fought
against Vietcong guerrillas in the 1960s and 1970s, with rising frustration. Without a fixed
front line, there is much territory that neither side controls which both sides apply military
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force over the same places at the same time. Therefore, guerrilla wars hurt civilians, who
suffer most when no military force firmly controls a location, opening the door to violence,
personal vengeances, sexual violence, and other such lawless behaviour. The situation is
particularly painful because conventional armies fighting against guerrillas cannot
differentiate them from civilians and punish both together. In one famous case in South
Vietnam, a U.S. officer who had ordered an entire village burned to deny its use as a
sanctuary by the Vietcong commented, We had to destroy the village to save it. Warfare
increasingly is irregular and guerrilla style, it is less and less often an open conventional
fighting of large state armies.

THE PURPOSE OF AN ARMY

The Armys mission is to fight and win our Nations wars by providing prompt,
sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict
in support of combatant commanders. So, the army must:
1) To deter the enemies
2) To protect sovereignty
3) Nation building

TO DETER THE ENEMIES

The army in war just made their duty to protect their own country n the citizens. The
duty is about the honours and not about their selfish or their hatred toward the enemies

TO PROTECT THE SOVEREIGNTY

A country's sovereignty and independence must be maintained at all times under any
circumstances. The responsibility to defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity of this country from any kind of threat and external attacks is situated on the
shoulder of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM). However, the ability to maintain the ATM in
the country will be stronger with the support and patriotism of the people. People's
willingness to sacrifice for the defence of the country, directly or indirectly, is a manifestation
of patriotism of the people and an important asset in order to defend the sovereignty and
independence of the country.

NATION BUILDING
One hand, you have to shoot and kill somebody. On the other hand, you have to feed
somebody. On the other hand, you have to build the economy, restructure the infrastructure,
build the political system. And theres some poor lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier
general down there, stuck in some province with all that saddled onto him, with NGOs and
political wannabes running around, with factions and a culture he doesnt understand.

LEVELS OF WAR
The levels of war that were highlighted by Clausewitz only consisted of two
fundamental levels which are the strategic and the tactical levels. 2 He had referred in his
writings to only these two levels instead of talking about the three levels that are involved in
war in the modern context and was said to be the idea that appeared in the Australias Army
Online Journal, Research and Analysis: Newsletter of the Directorate of Army Research and
Analysis, no 10, October1996.3

The three levels of war proposed are the strategic,

operational and the tactical level. Although the levels of war can also be different as there
were also other thinkers who saw the levels of war differently, the three levels of war is more
known and widely used as it is more complete and applicable to describe warfare more
accurately.4
The strategic level of war suggests the ability of employing national power.5 In this
level, we are more concerned or suggested to define and support the national policy and
relates directly to the results or the outcomes of the war or conflict. 6 This is because in this
level, strategy or plans for all of the things that a nation need to do in order to win the war or
conflict would be done in this level. Thus, every action that will be taken will be determined
here and will eventually lead to either victory or losing in the war or conflict. Every
equipment, requirement, leadership and other things involving administration and to help in
2 Levels of War: Just a Set of Levels? (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015.
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5 Ibid
6 Maxwell, A. (1997). Air and Space Power Mentoring Guide, Vol. 1. Retrieved
December 2, 2015, from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a418305.pdf
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the battlefield would also be decided in this level. In short, this level is very important before
the starting of the war or conflict. This level also requires the highest military commanders
and other capable leaders.7
The second level of war is the operational level. 8 This level is mostly concerned with
employing or putting the military forces in a theatre of war or theatre of operations to obtain
an advantage over the enemy.9 This is where a nation would employ their military forces in a
series of related military operations to achieve the objectives or goals of the war or conflict in
a certain period of time given. These operations would be done tactically in the place where
the commanders decided. It is said that where and when the operations will take place
depending on the objectives, the threat and limitations imposed geographically, economically
and environmentally.10 The number and types of the military resources available would also
determine the place and time of the operations. In short, this operational level would be
carried out during the war or conflict.
The third level is the tactical level. 11 This level is where the military forces would use
combat power in the battles and engagements. This requires individuals judgment as they
would make decisions and take actions according to their own situations. Tactics deal in the
details of prosecuting the engagements and are very flexible depending on the situations at

7 Ibid
8 Ibid
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Ibid
10

hand.12 With the correct decisions and actions, the military forces can take advantage when in
contact or in proximity with the enemy. In short, this level is where the military forces would
fight with the enemy during the war or conflict and this level is more towards individuals.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEW AND OLD TERRORISM

Terrorism is something that causes terror and insecurity among people. Terrorism has
been happening for a long time. One by one, terrorist group came into existence and shook
the whole world every time it came and brought disaster to any part of the world. But,
through time, terrorism had evolved and now is the time where a new concept of terrorism
had taken over. This concept of new terrorism emerged with the incident of 9/11 where 19
militants associated with an Islamic terrorist group, al Qaeda carried out four attacks which
were targeting places in United States. They hijacked four airliners and two of them were
flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another one hit Pentagon
in Washington D.C. and another one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. 13 This incident
happened in September 11th 2001. There are a few differences between the old and new
terrorism.
One of the differences is that the new terrorism has becoming more diffuse. 14 It
means that the terrorism groups now are more scattered. The terrorist groups now do not
practice a clear chain of command and this differ from the old concept of terrorism. These
12 Ibid
13 9/11 Attacks. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks
14 Neumann, P. (2009, August 3). Old and New Terrorism. Retrieved December 3,
2015, from http://www.socialeurope.eu/2009/08/old-and-new-terrorism/
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new groups of terrorists are described as more of a network than an organization 15 as formal
hierarchies have been replaced with a personal relationships. The old terrorist groups were
consisted of cell system where these cells cannot carry out bombings without the instruction
or permission of their commanders.16 As the terrorists now do not really have a clear chain of
command, thus, the bombings do not really rely on the only commanders permission to be
carried out. In short, the new terrorist groups are becoming confusing unlike the way they
were before.
The next difference is the terrorist groups now are more transnational. 17 The groups
now, taking al Qaeda as an example often shifted their center of gravity. The old terrorist
groups had their permanent bases where they would go back to no matter how they travelled
abroad to buy weapons, machines and equipment or to raise money. These old groups can
also be described as territorially groups and the new groups can be described as deterritorialized groups.18
Another difference is the rise of religiously motivated terrorism. 19 The old terrorist
groups are more into fighting for their political or ideological beliefs. For example, the old
terrorist groups in Europe in 1960s and 1970s were more into radical groups and fought
either for Marxist and nationalist. But, in the 1980s and 1990s, religious groups were starting

15 Ibid
16 Ibid
17 Ibid
18 Ibid
19 Ibid
12

to take over. For example, the militant Christian anti-abortionists in the United States, Jewish
extremists in the West Bank and a few Muslim groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and al Qaeda.20
Besides that, another difference between the old and new terrorist groups is that the
new groups are becoming more violence.21 Brian Jenkins in the mid-1970s stated that the
terrorist wanted a lot of people watching and not a lot of people dead. 22 In contrast, the new
groups seem to kill people not because of accidents and killing people is more like a routine.
For example, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland in their thirty year
campaign only caused seven incidents which ten or so people were killed in each one while al
Qaeda caused mass casualties where the 9/11 accident alone killed more people than IRA had
in thirty years.23

CONCLUSION
The effect from the war can destroy the economic or the social organisations of the
nation. If there is no war, the world will be in peace. War is about a dispute, a battle that used
the weapons that involve a state with another state. It is also can be defined as a conflict
between a group of competitor that had used the tactic of violence. The nature of war conflict
was had been launched for a certain objectives.
But most lists of wars has been set to some level or minimum criteria needed, for
example, a minimum of a thousand battle deaths to differentiate war from lower level acts of
20 Ibid
21 Ibid
22 Ibid
23 Ibid
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violence such as violent strike or riots. Wars are different. Wars tend to result from different
situations or environments which play different types of roles in negotiating over such
conflicts.
Terrorism is something that is very terrifying and caused a lot of casualties and
fatalities. It is becoming more serious as terrorism has been evolving over the years. A lot of
differences had been identified and this may help us and the authorities to learn about their
activities and might just help in overcoming this evolvement.

REFERENCES
Levels of War: Just a Set of Levels? (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015.
Maxwell, A. (1997). Air and Space Power Mentoring Guide, Vol. 1. Retrieved
December 2, 2015, from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a418305.pdf
9/11 Attacks. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.history.com/topics/911-attacks

Neumann, P. (2009, August 3). Old and New Terrorism. Retrieved December 3,
2015, from http://www.socialeurope.eu/2009/08/old-and-new-terrorism/

Joshua S. Goldstein, Jon C. Pavehouse, 2012, International Relations, Brief, 6th Edition

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