This book by a fellow former Australian Army Officer , should be read not only by those involved in defence and security , but by the citizenry. It is a guide to what is going on in the world today and how to understand and deal with it . Gone are the misleading concepts of the Bush era . If we in the West are to prevail , we must master the content of this book .
Maj. Kilcullen may write as an academic but in person he talks as a soldier . I think his quote from the National Press Club pretty well sums up what our position in combating insurgency should be i.e. ( with the aid and consent of the local population ) to " Ruthelessly hunt them down ... to ... kill or capture them . "
I believe that this is the only way to deal with the threat and to do something which is practically effective in memory of 9/11 , 7/7 , Beslan and all of the other murderous attacks .
From Amazon :
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Kilcullen, adviser on counterinsurgency to General Petraeus, defines accidental guerrillas as locals fighting primarily because outsiders (often Westerners) are intruding into their physical and cultural space, but they may also be galvanized by high-tech, internationally oriented ideologues. This interaction of two kinds of nonstate opponents renders both traditional counterterrorism and counterinsurgency inadequate. Kilcullen uses Afghanistan and Iraq as primary case studies for a new kind of war that relies on an ability to provoke Western powers into protracted, exhausting, expensive interventions. Kilcullen presents two possible responses. Strategic disruption keeps existing terrorists off balance. Military assistance attacks the conditions producing accidental guerrillas. That may mean full-spectrum assistance, involving an entire society. Moving beyond a simplistic war on terror depends on rebalancing military and nonmilitary elements of power. It calls for a long view, a measured approach and a need to distinguish among various enemies. It requires limiting the role of government agencies in favor of an indirect approach emphasizing local interests and local relationships. Not least, Kilcullen says, breaking the terrorist cycle requires establishing patterns of virtue, moral authority, and credibility in the larger society. Kilcullen's compelling argument merits wide attention. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"This book should be required reading for every American soldier, as well as anyone involved in the war on terror. Kilcullen's central concept of the 'accidental guerrilla' is brilliant and the policy prescriptions that flow from it important. And that's not all; the book has many more insights drawn from various battlefields." --Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
"Kilcullen's compelling argument merits wide attention."--Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"David Kilcullen, man of action and man of ideas, has produced a rare--and indispensable--guide to understanding and winning the so-called 'war on terror' by combining ideas of military theory with those of culture and tradition among tribal peoples." --Professor Akbar Ahmed, Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington DC.
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition. ( Click on the Amazon link above and then click on the Kindle link . )
