Access a free summary of Blood Year, by David Kilcullen and 20,000 other business, leadership and nonfiction books on getAbstract. A much-needed diversion. SAASS Comps Prep Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Can it be proved that we are actually doing good with our aid money or just fueling corruption? $27.95. However, I have found no better analysis of the issues we face in Iraq and Afghanistan and no better or more succint recipe for success anywhere. (Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek) More from the same. Sure, you can eradicate poppies, but what can farmers with no credit grow in drylands or what occuption will soak up that many disgruntled Somali men unless you can restore fishing habitats and access? The problem is in the details--sure, the local elites are probably willing partners to reject extremists and get their power back, but they and their corruption were part of the problem in the first place (see also: hey, it's a great plan to put the mafia dons back in charge of Sicily, since they aren't fascists!) I did, however, find the section on Timor somewhat difficult to follow. As an employee of the State Department, Dr. Kilcullen's position and strategic outlook and overall perspective becomes very clear through his writing. Yep, been there done that. He also hints at how the current conflict may develop - where extremists make use of legislative loopholes to have safe havens in developed countries. He served in East Timor, and wrote a dissertation on guerrilla warfare in traditional societies. The book is noteworthy for providing some actual theory regarding how these terrorist groups can be effective and, by implication, what needs to be done to combat them. Drone strikes, raids and other violent assaults have helped break down the traditional social structures of these tribes and given rise to unprecedentedly nihilistic modern phenomena like suicide bombings and the deliberate killing of children by tribesman. This book has much merit by adding to the existing base of knowledge. Now, in The Accidental Guerrilla, Kilcullen provides a remarkably fresh perspective on the War on Terror. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Thank you Mr. Kilcullen for fueling my already jaded view of our "GWOT". by Oxford University Press, Inc. His proposed solutions make sense and are food for thought. His relationship with Petraeus is referenced in the Iraq section but you get the sense that he and Kilcullen share a common thinking about how to deal with insurgency in Iraq and perhaps helped form US policy into the relative success that it is now. Kilcullen takes us "on the ground" to uncover the face of modern warfare, illuminating both the big global war (the "War on Terrorism") and its relation to the associated "small wars" across the globe: Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Pakistani tribal zones, East Timor and the horn of Africa. 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). Overall, I felt this book was quite informative regarding one of the greatest threats we face in the 21st Century. He also hints at how the current conflict may develop - where extremists make use of legislative loopholes to have safe havens in developed countries. Lawrence evoked the means of waging irregular warfare in his 1926 classic, 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', Mr. Kilcullen describes the practitioner's art of combating insurgents. Pdf ebook: The Accidental Guerrilla Pdf download ebook The Accidental Guerrilla. A concise and well written explanation of global terrorism, and U.S. involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan in historical context. The Accidental Guerrilla Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One David Kilcullen. He is one of the Ph.D.s in General Petraeus' brain trust that was assembled to implement the new counter-insurgency strategy put in place to save the US from defeat in the second Iraq War -- the "surge". Faced with unsuccessful military interventions in several conflicts, some of our own making, the U.S. military leadership seconded Lt. Col. David Kilcullen of the Australian Army to work with them on devising a and testing a new strategy that might allow them to withdraw from their engagements without complete failure. He then moves on to Europe to explore how best to understand (and engage) disconnected Muslim communities. Kilcullen is a military officer, but also an anthropologist. The Accidental Guerrilla User Review - Thorpe-Bowker and Contributors - Books+Publishing. By discussing the ways the nationalist and transnational terrorism we are able to see the way that people are brought slowly into the world of fighting against the United States. This book is a detailed study of the accidental guerrilla syndrome and why it matters. Start by marking “The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One” as Want to Read: Error rating book. March 16th 2009 Centralized Control/ Decentralized Execution. Oxford University Press, 2009, Hardback, 346 pages. He then moves on to Europe to explore how best to understand (and engage) disconnected Muslim communities. In The Accidental Guerrilla, Kilcullen provides a remarkably fresh perspective on the War on Terror. Notes from Gloves / “neo-Salafi ‘jihadists’ … are often implacable fanatics, [but] the local guerrillas they exploit frequently fight because … we are intruding into their space” xiv / “he is engaged in resistance rather than insurgency” xiv / counter-terror, which focuses on removing the terror network, won’t work because it’s enemy-centric; COIN, which focuses on winning the population, won’t work because it’s social- and political-centric xv / it’s not terrorism, it’s not insurgency, it’s hybrid warfare xvii / use the term takfiri instead of jihadi or salafist xviii-xix / human security and national security are not necessarily parallel 4 / hybrid warfare combines non-state actors and new tech with all the old threats, in the same operational and strategic space 6 / War on Terror militarizes foreign policy 7 / four models describe the threat environment: globalization backlash, global insurgency, Islamic civil war, and asymmetric warfare 7-27 / while the direct approach was understandable (had to do something after 9/11) but counterproductive to US nat’l interests 20 / extreme intolerance among takfiri and other Islamic groups mean there are sgfnt cleavages the US should exploit 21 / because the US is so strong, it is critical that she establish a fundamentally benign intent – otherwise, every nation on earth is stuck in the security dilemma 23 / opposing models include Islamo-fascism, clash of civilizations, and fourth-generation warfare 28 / al Qaeda is “inciter-in-chief,” not commander-in-chief 28 / al Qaeda mil strat is to bleed US economy white 29 / accidental guerrilla syndrome steps: 1) AQ infects a safe haven, 2) AQ spreads violence, 3) outsider disrupts safe haven, 4) locals ally with AQ to oust outsiders 34-38 / locals reject outsiders like a body rejects a foreign object, even one that has a beneficial purpose 38 / “instability in Afg is a far broader problem than insurgency” 46 / “The Taliban may be cruel … but they are seen as fair” 47 / about a quarter of the insurgents are full-timers, with the balance being ad hoc accidentals 48-9 / insurgency isn’t focused on overthrowing the state – but in creating a Taliban state that includes part of Pakistan 50 / weak district governors give Taliban room to operate 51-2 / development must be targeted during COIN, to ensure only the good guys get aid 66ff / remember that in a traditional society, choices are made collectively, not individually 68 / tribal governance has three parts: tribal elders, local mullahs, and gov’t rep 77-8 / during times of external threat, mullahs get more authority 79 / tribal governance threatened by zealotry, unemployment, and foreign influences from both extremes 79-80 / seven elements of the Taliban system: three in Afg (full-time fighters, local guerrillas, and village cells) and four in Pak (training and logistics, political and religious leadership, recruiting service, and sponsors and backers) 83 / how to counter the elements: secure the people, separate them from the enemy, enable local governance, and connect local government to higher echelons of govt 93 / another breakdown of the method: secure populace, separate enemy elements, build local allies, deny enemy access to the populace, link people to govt, be persistently present, and use full-spectrum political maneuver 94 / “building of a road drags [the enemy] to you,” where you can use echeloned fires to kill him 96-7 / full-spectrum political maneuver is like blocking access with military, withholding something nice (tea, sugar, cooking oil) from the accidentals while providing it to cooperators, and promising relief upon entry into govt negotiations 104 / success requires knowledge of terrain, tribal structure, economics, and politics 106-7 / the presence of a road isn’t the magic – it’s the process of building the road that decouples insurgents from the populace 108-9 / Coalition C2 is byzantine, and that’s not good 110 / priorities: first, build an Afghan state; second, eliminate security threats; third, limit drug trade 113 / “there is no substitute for understanding [the] cultural terrain” 114 / it’s not colonialism if it’s only temporary 114 / blitzkrieg in Iraq was a bad idea 117 / accidental guerrilla syndrome steps in Iraq started with step three, the outsider invades 118 / “accepting the occasional mortaring as the cost of doing business in Iraq” is a better approach than overwhelming kinetic counterfire 125 / it’s force protection getting a higher priority than the strategic benefit of winning popular support 125 / Iraqi terrain that needed clearing wasn’t topographical but human 145 / Iraq hybrid warfare has four strategic problems: terrorism, insurgency, sectarian and ethnic conflict (which overlap) and an underlying lack of governance and services 149-51 / Iraq is an insurgency, plus a terror campaign, plus a civil war 152 / locals are allies, not employees – leads to trust and gives honor 165 / tribal-led reconciliations 168-70 / limited success led to bandwagoning 180 / eight COIN best practices: political strategy, comprehensive approach, continuity, secure the populace, synch development, partner with locals for govt, partner with locals for security, disrupt safe havens with a regional approach 265-7 / a local security person is worth about five outsiders, for “tooth-to-tail” and rotation issues alone 270 / GWOT has made terrorism an existential threat for other nations 272 / the existential threat to the US is that we would overreact and become something different (a police state, a colonial power, etc.) I agree with some of his applications however not all of the ways that he uses this theory are in my opinion, accurate. But, recognizing that while our conventional war-fighting superiority endures, any sensible enemy will choose to fight us in this manner, we should hold on to the knowledge and corporate memory so painfully acquired, across all the agencies of all the Coalition partners, in Afghanistan and Iraq. A hardcore group of Bin Ladenist revolutionaries has found ways to hide out in traditional tribal networks whose cultures are based on providing hospitality to guests in danger. Refresh and try again. In the end, apparently, everyone wants to write a book about how the planet should be run. The Accidental Guerilla and Counterinsurgency, David Kilcullen is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and chair of Caerus Associates. This is a well founded piece of scholarly research. Only got to page 37. The book ends with the author's experiences in Timor showing that the Accidental Guerilla syndrome is a tactic that has been used outside the Islamic world and which can be dealt with successfully, although the example falls a little flat as Timor appears far less virulent than the problems the world now faces in Afghanistan, Yemen and other places. While this seems like a pretty obvious conclusion to me, its refreshing to hear from a military official, albeit an Australian one. A complex and multi layered work. To see what your friends thought of this book. There are a few parts which, quite frankly,did not seem logical to me, at first in the face of the current threat. Analysis and Review The Accidental Guerrilla is Kilcullen's account of wars along with his personal experience. This Study Guide consists of approximately 21 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Guerrilla Warfare. Quite an insightful book which draws on field experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq to articulate the theory of the 'accidental guerilla' , and also backs up his view that the current conflict in the world is inter-related and cannot rely on military solutions alone. David Kilcullen's is definitely worth reading if you are interested in getting one expert's perspective on how western societies should deal with terrorism for the next fifty to one hundred years. Therefore I love his thesis but feel that he is unable to apply the theory to various situations. Hence you have accidently created a guerrilla. The Accidental Guerrilla Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One Oxford University Press . And that's not all; the book has many more insights drawn from various battlefields." To date, this is the most clear and concise assessment of our current conflict environment told through the eyes of an anthropologist, counterinsurgency theorist and soldier. 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