Understanding Counterinsurgency Warfare

Origins, Operations, Challenges

Edited by Thomas Rid, Thomas A. Keaney

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About the Book

This book is about counterinsurgency - how modern regular armed forces react, and should react, to irregular warfare. What are the doctrinal origins of counterinsurgency warfare? What are today’s main operational issues? What are the future strategic challenges?

The market has produced many books on insurgency and some on aspects of counterinsurgency. Yet the book fills three gaps: First, there is no book that focuses principally on counter-insurgency and specifically discusses all the aspects of it in a complete, systematic and critical fashion (official military publications lack both a critical view and usually are focused on one particular army and its own historical experiences). Second, there is no book that captures today’s rather productive debate on small wars in such a comprehensive way. Third, so far the European perspective in the small wars debate has been neglected. This book, with authors from Britain, France and Germany, as well as the USA, attempts to change that.

In mid-2009 the next U.S. administration will have arrived firmly in office and most likely will refocus its attention on Iraq; it will also work with European nations to reevaluate NATO operations in Afghanistan. A book that looks at the 21st century’s dominant way of war in an encompassing way — written by some of America’s and Europe’s best experts —will be in demand.

This book will be of great interest to students of counterinsurgency, small wars, strategic studies and international security.

Table of Contents

PART I:The Doctrinal Origins of Counter Insurgency

1. France and its Colonial Lessons, Etienne de Durand

2. German Thinking on Small Wars, Thomas Rid

3. Britain’s Small Wars Doctrine, Alex Alderson

4. American Counterinsurgency Doctrine, Conrad Crane

5. The Insurgent’s View, Gérard Chaliand

PART II: Operational Aspects of Counter Insurgency

6. Army, H R McMaster

7. Marine Corps, Frank Hoffman

8. Airpower, Charles Dunlap, Jr

9. Naval Support, Martin Murphy

10. Special Operations, Kalev Sepp

11. Intelligence, David Kilcullen

12. Indigenous Forces, John Nagl

13. Government Reform, Janine Davidson

14. Culture, Montgomery McFate

15. Ethics, Sarah Sewall

PART III: Strategic Challenges of Counter Insurgency

16. The Counter Insurgent and the Media, William Caldwell, IV

17. The Insurgent and the New Media, Daniel Kimmage

18. Globalized Extremism, Olivier Roy

19. Time, Martin van Creveld

20. Postscript: Unity of Action, Eliot Cohen