War today is far different from what we expected it to be. Counter-insurgency and protracted guerrilla warfare, not shock and awe, are the order of the day. The Australian David Kilcullen is the world's foremost expert on this way of war, and in The Accidental Guerrilla, the Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to the Pentagon and architect of 'the Surge', surveys war as it is actually fought in the contemporary world. Colouring his account with gripping battlefield experiences that range from the highlands of Southeast Asia to the mountains of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the dusty towns of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, The Accidental Guerrilla will, quite simply, change the way we think about war. While conventional warfare has obvious limits, Kilcullen stresses 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 AlQaeda, but, as Kilcullen contends, our current focus is far too narrow, for it tends to emphasize one geographical region and one state. The current war presents a much different situation: stateless insurgents and terrorists operating across large number of countries and only loosely affiliated with each other. Just as importantly, 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. Given the incremental-yet remarkable-success of Kilcullen's strategy in Iraq, what Kilcullen has to say will be widely anticipated. His vision of war has changed Western policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and this eagerly awaited comprehensive account will help shape policy for years to come.
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'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
'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, Sunday Times
'This book should be required reading for 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
About the Author
David Kilcullen is one of the world's leading experts on guerrilla warfare and, rarely among his kind, has a PhD in political anthropology. He has served in every theatre of the 'War on Terror' since 9/11 as Special Advisor for Counterinsurgency to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq, and chief counterterrorism strategist for the US State Department. He is a former Australian Army officer with combat experience in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is hard to criticise Kilcullen's new book for anything else than being timely. This is of course great for understanding the international threat situation we experience just now, yet such empirical assessments are of limited value a few years down the line. Kilcullen's opening theory chapter, however, is likely to be circulated and discussed widely for a long time. He offers a synthesis of different approaches of how to battle insurgencies and terrorists, especially the Islamist kind. Kilcullen's credentials account for rock solid experience from academia, politics and the military. He writes in a style that makes his informed analysis applicable to all these three spheres, and this is quite rare. "The Accidental Guerilla" amounts to a must-read for those who work with or study international security and conflict.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By C. Lanham
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Clear, concise and very readable. Is the author an academic in military uniform or military in an academic suite...probably both. The author makes the point his book is too academic to be populist and too populist to be academic...(therefore it is pitched at the exact level for the remaining 99% of us).
Regardless if you are an armchair pundit on "terrorism" or a military PHD historian or if you have any interest in what is happening in the World (packaged as the "War on Terror") or any interest in understanding insurgencies.....read this book!!!!
Never has the adage that Counterinsurgency is 20% military 80% non military been so clearly narrated.
I am not military, but can see (after reading this book) how our armies are built to fight conventional wars (ie: state vs state) as opposed to "small wars" (ie: insurgencies). The book highlights how this will not work in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq etc...if the Armies (ie: invading countries) are purely focused on destroying the "enemy" (territory held, head count, enemy destroyed, etc...).
Dave Kilculen has advised General Petraeus in Iraq and is now advising General McChrystal in Afghanistan. To all junior commanders on the ground and civilian re-construction teams it is recommended you read this....(please).
Regardless if you are an armchair pundit on "terrorism" or a military PHD historian or if you have any interest in what is happening in the World (packaged as the "War on Terror") or any interest in understanding insurgencies.....read this book!!!!
Never has the adage that Counterinsurgency is 20% military 80% non military been so clearly narrated.
I am not military, but can see (after reading this book) how our armies are built to fight conventional wars (ie: state vs state) as opposed to "small wars" (ie: insurgencies). The book highlights how this will not work in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq etc...if the Armies (ie: invading countries) are purely focused on destroying the "enemy" (territory held, head count, enemy destroyed, etc...).
Dave Kilculen has advised General Petraeus in Iraq and is now advising General McChrystal in Afghanistan. To all junior commanders on the ground and civilian re-construction teams it is recommended you read this....(please).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is pitched at a reasonably high level, but is still quite readable. The initial chapter on guerilla theory, and the concept of the titular "Accidental Guerilla", is worth the cover price alone. This concept is then backed up with case studies in various hotspots around the world.
The book gives a fantastic insight into insurgency in general, and takfiri (to use the preferred phrase from the book, instead of Islamist) insurgency in particular. The reasons for the global spread of the "War on Terror", and how the US and NATO have unwittingly assisted in some cases, are clearly presented and quite compelling.
Anyone who has an interest in the conflicts of the current era should read this book. Anyone who is involved in these conflicts - soldier, statesman, diplomat - MUST read this book.
The book gives a fantastic insight into insurgency in general, and takfiri (to use the preferred phrase from the book, instead of Islamist) insurgency in particular. The reasons for the global spread of the "War on Terror", and how the US and NATO have unwittingly assisted in some cases, are clearly presented and quite compelling.
Anyone who has an interest in the conflicts of the current era should read this book. Anyone who is involved in these conflicts - soldier, statesman, diplomat - MUST read this book.
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