Overview

This landmark book--a Washington Post bestseller--transformed the theory and practice of counterinsurgency. Colouring his account with gripping battlefield experience from the highlands of Southeast Asia, the mountains of the Afghanistan Pakistan border, and the dusty towns of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, David Kilcullen argues that neither counterterrorism nor traditional counterinsurgency is the appropriate framework to fight the enemy we now face. Traditional counterinsurgency is more effective than counterterrorism when it comes to entities like Al-Qaeda, but, as Kilcullen contends, our current focus is far too narrow, concentrating on only one geographical region and one state. Today's wars present a much different situation: stateless insurgents and terrorists operating across a large number of countries and only loosely affiliated with each other. Western armies have done a poor job of applying different tactics to different situations, continually misidentifying insurgents with limited aims and legitimate grievances as part of a coordinated worldwide network. The Accidental Guerrilla identifies the problem and suggests workable solutions. This highly readable and closely argued book is essential for all those thinking about and fighting wars today.

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9781849047111

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Reviews

'For a wider perspective on the lessons drawn over the past seven years of the 'war on terror', the reader can do no better than turn to Mr Kilcullen's excellent book. The Accidental Guerrilla has an anthropologist's sense of social dynamics and a reporter's eye for telling detail.'--The Economist; 'At the heart of this significant book is the author's declaration that terrorism cannot be addressed by military means alone: that for American or British soldiers merely to kill insurgents is meaningless. He urges policies based upon securing and succouring populations, not on enemy body counts... Kilcullen is an influential man. A former Australian army officer, he became a key adviser to General David Petraeus and then Condoleezza Rice's principal counter-terrorist strategist at the State Department. His book synthesises lessons that America has learnt by bitter experience and that, hopefully, will continue to influence its politics in the Obama era... Almost everything the author says makes sense. His work reflects wisdom purchased by eight years of western military and political folly.' -- Max Hastings, The Sunday Times; 'This book is essential... Kilcullen skillfully interprets the future of counterinsurgency, the proper use of military force and what we must learn from our losses and mistakes. After reading The Accidental Guerrilla, one is left to wonder why the pentagon did not listen to his sage advice back in 2003.' -- New York Times Book Review; 'As a former Australian army officer, Mr. Kilcullen may seem to have an odd background for this task, since Australia is hardly a central player in the global war on terrorism. Yet the Aussies have a long, distinguished history of involvement in guerrilla wars, from Vietnam to Indonesia...While he writes that 'there is no such thing as a 'standard' counterinsurgency,' there are some standard texts on the subject. The Accidental Guerrilla is sure to become one.'--Wall Street Journal

Author Information

David Kilcullen is one of the world's foremost thinkers on counterinsurgency and military strategy. He is the author of Counterinsurgency, Out of the Mountains, and Blood Year: Islamic State and the Failures of the War on Terror. He was formerly Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq and to the NATO Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He is currently Chairman of Caerus Associates, a Washington-based strategy and design firm, and First Mile Geo, a geospatial analysis firm. He is also a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, studying insurgency and unconventional warfare. He has served in Colombia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

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