Using the Lieber Code (http://www.civilwarhome.com/liebercode.htm), the victorious Union effectively suppressed armed resistance in the old Confederacy—including a former army of highly trained, experienced, and motivated soldiers. The 3rd St. Gang in Santa Ana is a ragtag group of dudes with pistols and the occasional submachine gun. They rule their little patch of Orange County, but they have never faced a disciplined, military-grade opponent with the will and right to crush them. They would wilt like a daisy.
Maybe it would take a month or two to break them instead of a week, but the point remains—such a gang could be crushed on a timescale tiny compared to how long they've existed. The key would be to use, not "modern" counterinsurgency theory, but rather forgotten tactics that actually work.
Thats interesting reading, thanks. The problem is your scenario is still unworkable.
How would you handle the following?
A mentally ill resident wanders down the street during curfew, and is shot by a sniper. Video of the killing is distributed on the internet.
A pregnant woman dies giving birth because of the curfew and travel restrictions.
An individual-scale altercation between occupying soldiers and residents escalates. The soldiers taze or shoot some of the residents. A mob forms, and the soldiers are locally outnumbered 10 to one. Video of all of this is recorded and distributed.
African-American and Hispanic soldiers are reluctant to enforce martial law on a community that they have more visceral sympathy for.
Think of it this way -- they guys you're fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are basically more heavily armed gangs, and even with the huge US presence and relative lack of publicity for harsh tactics they're able to melt away.
Maybe it would take a month or two to break them instead of a week, but the point remains—such a gang could be crushed on a timescale tiny compared to how long they've existed. The key would be to use, not "modern" counterinsurgency theory, but rather forgotten tactics that actually work.