The war between the mujahideen and the Soviet Armed Forces during the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979 to 1989, though claimed as a source of the term "asymmetric warfare", occurred years after Mack wrote of "asymmetric conflict". (Note that the term "asymmetric warfare" became well known in the West only in the 1990s.)

Who coined the term asymmetric warfare?

Insurgent groups which cannot match the power of larger armies generally try to employ guerrilla tactics to frustrate and cause significant damage to their adversaries rather than try to completely eliminate them. The term was coined by Andrew J.R. Mack in his 1975 article “Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars”.

Was the Vietnam war asymmetrical warfare?

Vietnam. After World War II, France reasserted its colonial control over Indochina (Vietnam). As a result, Vietnamese insurgents arose and started waging war against the French. This was an asymmetric war, waged between a large colonial power and small groups of freedom fighters.