Catchword: oil-spot theory

Filed under: Language, English, Subject, Military, Politics

Part of speech: n.

Quotation: The actual strategy which the government adopted in its attempts to prevent a communist takeover was only articulated to any appreciable degree in the military domain. It might be summarized as an urban-based strategy involving the abandonment of the rural areas and withdrawal into population centers. These were then to be employed as bases for a gradually widening net of operations into rural areas, or the so-called “oil-spot” theory. According to this strategy as communist units were worn down, the heavier government units could be moved into a wider perimeter, with their place being take by police or paramilitary organizations, which could maintain sufficient security to reestablish the local organs of government.

Article or Document Title:
“How They Won”

Author:
Jeffrey Race

Article, document, publication, web site:
Asian Survey

Date of publication:
Aug., 1970

Page number:
634

Volume: 10

Number or issue: 8

This cite belongs to a full entry for oil spot strategy.