Moreover, the cases demonstrate the strategic utility of special operations and the units that execute

them. Lastly, the case studies highlight the impact of special operations upon the threat groups that
employ unconventional methods and its contribution to the course and outcome to the conflict. B. CASE
STUDIES Right after World War II, many countries, especially those in Southeast Asia, became trouble
spots due to the threat of Communism. The Philippines was not spared the same problem that the
Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese people had come to face. The Communist insurgency in the
Philippines was (and is still) rooted in the nation's history of peasant rebellions. Discontentment among
peasants over land tenancy and pressures over land reforms inspired increasing violence during the
post-war period, leading to the Communist-led Hukbalahap, or “Huk” rebellion. The Huks fought
unconventionally-- they were initially successful by using guerrilla warfare tactics. The fighting from
1947-1949 seemed to favor the enemy of the government (i.e., the Huks). By 1954, with the
government’s effective and successful strategy of counterinsurgency, the insurgents’ influence over the
populace died out. However, a remnant of the Communist-led Huks and a handful of new young
revolutionaries continued the fight in succeeding years. In December 1968, this revolutionary coalition
founded the CPP and the NPA, its armed component. The CCP/NPA has now waged an insurgent war
against the Philippine government for 35 –years. After World War II, the AFP was not prepared to fight
an insur