Did "pacification", for instance, mean trying to regain the confidence of the inhabitants; or did it mean crushing the rebellion by whatever means available? "Limited repression" did not always make the clearest sense to a patrol of young soldiers caught in a vicious ambush. What was needed were new ideas, new leaders, new weapons, and more men.

XREF: Echoes modern counterinsurgency doctrine (COIN) debates about population-centric vs enemy-centric approaches. SEED: Could fuel an essay comparing 'limited repression' ambiguity across eras of asymmetric warfare.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 353