Arms of Little Value: The Challenge of Insurgency and Global Instability in the Twenty-First Century

by G. L. Lamborn

Overview

In a dangerous era, a former soldier and CIA officer proposes smarter ways to keep the US safe from the effects of insurgencies around the world.
 
What we’ve been seeing in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and elsewhere in recent years is merely the beginning. We are entering an extremely dangerous period in our history. The author, with over a quarter century of intelligence experience, has been a student, an observer—and sometimes a participant—in various insurgencies since his “initiation” in Vietnam in 1969.
 
This book offers an understanding of the true nature of insurgency and a glimpse at the reasons why we have not always dealt with it effectively. Drawing from his service in various Third World nations, as well as several successor republics of the former Soviet Union, G.L. Lamborn provides a crucial understanding of what ignites and sustains these movements—and what can prevent them from spreading and spiraling out of control.
 
“Through case studies and analysis, Lamborn, a former Army and Central Intelligence Agency officer, seeks to explicate the importance of political action to insurgencies and explain how military power is successful only to the extent it delegitimizes an insurgency . . . If readers accept the premise of honest, critical evaluation of military power’s limits, there is much to be gained from Arms of Little Value.” —Military Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612001166
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	01/10/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	313
File size:	936 KB

About the Author

In a career spanning 42 years, Mr. Lamborn has 26 years of experience with the Central Intelligence Agency, working in a variety of operational, analytical, and leadership assignments in the Directorate of Operations, Directorate of Intelligence, and the Office of the Director. A trained operations officer, Mr. Lamborn specialized in insurgency and influence operations in support of national directives in the 1980s and 1990s. He has served in various Third World countries and in several successor republics of the former Soviet Union. A Vietnam War veteran, he currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Dedication 9

Foreword Arturo G. Munoz 11

Explanatory Note 18

Preface 21

Overview Are Wise Counsels Possible in Insurgencies? 23

Chapter 1 How the Other Half Lives 27

Chapter 2 Many Roads to Insurgency 53

Chapter 3 A Peek at Western Strategic Thinking 79

Chapter 4 Neither Karl nor Antonine 101

Chapter 5 Three Cautionary Tales 125

Chapter 6 Root and Stem 151

Chapter 7 Counterinsurgency Conundrum 173

Chapter 8 American Myopia 195

Chapter 9 Wise Counsels at Home 231

Annex A San Salvador 2038 250

Annex B So-called "Radical" Islam 267

Annex C Understanding Fanaticism 279

Annex D Viet Cong Political Mobilization 288

Bibliography 291

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

"an excellent book which I highly recommended to all readers who wish to understand what an insurgency is, its causes and how the west can better deal with insurgencies in the future. Whilst critical in the extreme, it aptly focuses the readers mind on the issues we face around the world and what causes these issues. The reader will come away from this book with a better understanding of the world we live in."

Warfare Magazine

"Through case studies and analysis, Lamborn, a former Army and Central Intelligence Agency officer, seeks to explicate the importance of political action to insurgencies and explain how military power is successful only to the extent it delegitimizes an insurgency. . . . If readers accept the premise of honest, critical evaluation of military power's limits, there is much to be gained from Arms of Little Value."

Military Review

"Through case studies and analysis, Lamborn, a former Army and Central Intelligence Agency officer, seeks to explicate the importance of political action to insurgencies and explain how military power is successful only to the extent it delegitimizes an insurgency. . . . If readers accept the premise of honest, critical evaluation of military power's limits, there is much to be gained from Arms of Little Value."

MILITARY REVIEW

"an excellent book which I highly recommended to all readers who wish to understand what an insurgency is, its causes and how the west can better deal with insurgencies in the future. Whilst critical in the extreme, it aptly focuses the readers mind on the issues we face around the world and what causes these issues. The reader will come away from this book with a better understanding of the world we live in."

Warfare Magazine UK

...an excellent book which I highly recommended to all readers who wish to understand what an insurgency is, its causes and how the west can better deal with insurgencies in the future. Whilst critical in the extreme, it aptly focuses the readers mind on the issues we face around the world and what causes these issues. The reader will come away from this book with a better understanding of the world we live in.

Warfare UK