Algeria

"We shall support whatever the enemy opposes and oppose whatever the enemy supports." (Mao Tse-Tung, 1893-1976) My thesis is that the lack of local support eventually led to the Algerian Revolution. The Algerians gained independence through waging war in France and Algeria by angering the local populations and swaying public opinion.

The French effort to remain in control of one of her last colonial possessions was doomed from the onset with the initiated struggle for independence led by the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) in 1954. This group brought the war home to France. "The FLN also established a strong organization in FranceÐ'...Merciless Ð''cafÐ"© wars', resulting in nearly 5,000 deathsÐ'..." (McFly n.d.) This led to an internal destabilization in the French homeland. Later on the they formed the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic, based in Tunis, and was "recognized by Morocco, Tunisia, and several other Arab countries, by a number of Asian and African states, and by the Soviet Union and other East European states." (McFly n.d.) Globally, the odds were further stacked against the French. The United Nations General Assembly was considering the "Algerian Question, and the FLN was gaining support. France's seeming intransigence in settling a colonial war that tied down half the manpower of its armed forces was also a source of concern to its NATO allies." (McFly n.d.) In 1961 some elements of the Army almost toppled the De Gualle government because of its handling of Algeria.

The lack of popular support in Algeria started by the harsh response from the French Army to the "massacre of civilians by the FLN near the town of Philippeville in August 1955Ð'... according to the FLN 12,000 Muslims perishedÐ'..." (McFly n.d.) The insurgents successfully used "hit and run tactics" and "avoided direct contact with superior French firepower." (McFly n.d.) Thus the insurgents were buying time knowing the French would eventually leave as they had in Tunis, Morocco and Indochina. The insurgents increased tension by using violent terrorist attacks on French property that invited a "crushing response from authorities." (McFly n.d.) This further led to more harsh treatment and resentment from the local population.

General Jacques Massu was given the authority to "restore