Just as quickly, however, he regained influence in the party and was holding new government positions as the war ended in 1975. The people themselves are seen as the agents of war and victory. They join for both political and armed struggle against an enemy. Victory is only possible when all are working toward those common goals. There is no such thing as noncombatants.
War is necessarily longer than Western leaders anticipate.
Tactics and ideology are less important than united front organizations and full mobilization. People's war certainly involves armed struggle, but that armed struggle is unlike Western combat - with its conventional organization and deployment of large forces, heavy arms, and massive bombing. People's war utilizes kidnapping, assassinations, guerrilla forces, and political violence. The political struggle also sought to maximize adverse impact upon public opinion in the United States. There are numerous sources for development of an understanding of people's war.