Counterinsurgency

by David Kilcullen

Overview

David Kilcullen is one of the world's most influential experts on counterinsurgency and modern warfare, a ground-breaking theorist whose ideas "are revolutionizing military thinking throughout the west" (Washington Post). Indeed, his vision of modern warfare powerfully influenced the United States' decision to rethink its military strategy in Iraq and implement "the Surge," now recognized as a dramatic success. In Counterinsurgency, Kilcullen brings together his most salient writings on this vitally important topic. Here is a picture of modern warfare by someone who has had his boots on the ground in some of today's worst trouble spots-including Iraq and Afghanistan-and who has been studying counterinsurgency since 1985. Filled with down-to-earth, common-sense insights, this book is the definitive account of counterinsurgency, indispensable for all those interested in making sense of our world in an age of terror.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199737499
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/19/2010
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	225,526
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Kilcullen was formerly the Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq and later an advisor to General Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan. He is currently an advisor to NATO. Kilcullen is also Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Understanding Insurgency and Counterinsurgency 1

Part I A Ground-Level Perspective

Introduction to the Expanded and Annotated "Twenty-eight Articles" 17

1 Twenty-eight Articles: Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency 29

2 Measuring Progress in Afghanistan 51

Introduction to "Globalization and the Development of Indonesian Counterinsurgency Tactics" 77

3 Globalization and the Development of Indonesian Counterinsurgency Tactics 85

Introduction to "Reflections on the Engagement at Motaain Bridge" 106

4 Reflections on the Engagement at Motaain Bridge, 10 October 1999 109

5 Deiokes and the Taliban: Local Governance, Bottom-up State Formation, and the Rule of Law in Counterinsurgency 147

Part II A Global Perspective

6 Countering Global Insurgency 165

Notes 229

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

"This book gives the reader much more than a better understanding of the situation in Iraq and Afganistan. It encapsulates numerous particularly relevant insights into the tactical, operational, and strategic challenges of counterinsurgency; plus it offers the most succinct overview of how to wage a global counterinsurgency anywhere." —Army History

From the Publisher