Suggestions for course readings

[marct]

Hi Folks,

I have been asked to look into running a directed reading course on counter-insurgency / counter-terrorism. This would be at a 4th year (Senior I think it's called in the US) level. The student(s) involved (there might be 2 or 3) are civilians and are unlikely to go into the military, but would probably become involved in the GWOT via either NGOs or government policy organizations. It's my feeling that they would need a comprehensive understanding of COIN, including the military aspect as well as LE and reconstruction efforts. Any suggestions for readings, especially online ones, would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Marc

[bismark17]

One very overlooked book is, Guerriilla, by Charles W. Thayer. Thayer reminds me of a the author of, This Kind of War, by Ted Fehrenbach a soldier/scholar who was able to get down into the small details but also discuss the main overall themes. He combined both academics and actual real world experiences. He had the rare experience of working COIN from both perspectives being with Tito's guerrillas and then working with the Department of State post Army.

His page of acknowledgements of people who read and commented on the book is living history....Averell Harriman, Samuel B. Griffith, Roger Hilsman, Victor Krulak, Edward Lansdale, and his fellow cadet at that college on the Hudson, William Yarborough. The preface is by Sir Fitzroy Maclean. It's pretty amazing to read. My well thumbed copy cost me $1.45 which just goes to show that prices don't always equate to value.

On the Law Enforcement realm I would check into the products of the Problem Oriented Policing sites but bare in mind that L.E. Intel doesn't have anywhere near the depth of the Military when it comes to methodology. Plus, a lot that passes for L.E. intel literature is geared for managers and supervisors. It doesn't go into the creation of "actionable" intel that tells you what is going to happen when and where. That is very difficult without the use of various technologies and the use of informants which are both areas of concern for domestic Intel.

[SN100682136]

Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual 1983
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB27/02-01.htm

KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation 1963
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEB...ark%201-60.pdf
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEB...k%2061-112.pdf
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEB...%20113-128.pdf

Marc I have hard copies of these readings, I can give to you next time if you don’t want to read 500 pages on a computer screen and have your eyes starting to bleed …

SN100682136
Yannick

[milnews.ca]

I have been asked to look into running a directed reading course on counter-insurgency / counter-terrorism. This would be at a 4th year (Senior I think it's called in the US) level. The student(s) involved (there might be 2 or 3) are civilians and are unlikely to go into the military, but would probably become involved in the GWOT via either NGOs or government policy organizations. It's my feeling that they would need a comprehensive understanding of COIN, including the military aspect as well as LE and reconstruction efforts. Any suggestions for readings, especially online ones, would be much appreciated.

If you have the flexibility of showing movies, can't recommend "Battle of Algiers" enough - the DVD package my spouse uses in one of her courses (poli sci) also includes interviews with the officers of the day, explaining why they did what they did. Also, the film is a good link-up to David Galula's "Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice" (Amazon Listing) - he fought with the French in Algeria, and did a Rand Monograph (downloadable in .pdf here) which was apparently a precursor to the larger work.

[bismark17]

The show, The Wire, is like a modern day L.E. U.S. version of the, Battle of Algiers. Its dead on and does a good job of covering technological issues of investigations.

[The Patriot]

I just took a counterinsurgency / counterterrorism class and would recommend a book by Bard E. O'Neill - Insurgency & Terrorism (From Revolution to Apocalypse). Potomac Books is the publisher. It's very readable and is an excellent overall introduction to the subject. O'Neill is very knowledgeable and he wrote the book "for a more general audience that includes, most importantly, military and civilian members of the national security policy community." It also includes many references to other related material should you decide to delve deeper. Hope this helps...

Gary

[Steve Blair]

You may want to go into some of the emerging work about the Kansas-Missouri border troubles just before and during the US Civil War. This is an overlooked COIN area (and yes, I'd call it that for both the nature of the conflict and the heavy political overtones and population control issues that were central to many operations), plus it has the advantage of benefiting from a blend of military and social examination.

[hsa333]

Speaking of movies, you might want to check out an independent film just released on DVD called "Cavite". It's about a Filipino-American who is lured back to the Philippines and coerced into carrying out a bombing by Abu Sayyaf. It's on Netflix. Totally fascinating. In my opinion, the best movie so far about the GWOT. It's on Netflix.

Here are a few books that are my favorite on the COIN topic:

"The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902" by Brian McAllister Linn. Stunning review of a very nuanced counterinsurgency policy.

"The Army and Vietnam" by Andrew Krepinevich . This is a very thoughtful analysis of how military and civilian policymakers developed the strategy for Vietnam, and ignored the realities of the war they were fighting. My personal fave on the VN war.

"The White King of La Gonave" by Faustin Wirkus. Wirkus was a Marine NCO assigned to administer a small Haitian island during our occupation. For that era (contrast with Capt. John Houston Craige's book saturated with a racist mindset about his experiences in 1920's Haiti, "Black Baghdad") Wirkus was extremely enlightened. This is a book about Civil Affairs in a guerilla warfare environment, before the term even existed.

There are more, but I have to run.

[marct]

Thanks, folks - good suggestions all.

Marc

[hsa333]

If you want to interject some COIN-Lit check out Leo Tolstoy's "Hadji Murad" about the Russian-Chechen war in the mid-19th Century. It's short.

[marct]

If you want to interject some COIN-Lit check out Leo Tolstoy's "Hadji Murad" about the Russian-Chechen war in the mid-19th Century. It's short.

Really? Never even heard of it Hsa. Thanks!

Marc

[Tom Odom]

Marc

I would point to my COIN bibliography as a source. It is extensive but I also put as many web-sourced readings into as I could.

Best

Tom

[J Wolfsberger]

Marc, this month's issue of Military History contains an article on Tolstoy's experience in Chechnya, and mentions this book.

With regard to suggested readings, you might look into "A Savage War of Peace" by Alistair Horne. I understand it is to be reprinted soon with a new forward.

Two others that might provide very useful background are "Vanceremos," by Che Geuvarra, and "War in the Shadows," by Asprey.

IMO, these provide a good basis for understanding guerilla warfare (including insurgency and terrorism) before moving on to more advanced work such as Killcullen.

[marct]

Marc

I would point to my COIN bibliography as a source. It is extensive but I also put as many web-sourced readings into as I could.

Best

Tom

Hi Tom,

I don't have a copy of your bibliography. Is it in the SWJ library or online?

Thanks,

Marc

[marct]

Hi J.,

Marc, this month's issue of Military History contains an article on Tolstoy's experience in Chechnya, and mentions this book.

With regard to suggested readings, you might look into "A Savage War of Peace" by Alistair Horne. I understand it is to be reprinted soon with a new forward.

Two others that might provide very useful background are "Vanceremos," by Che Geuvarra, and "War in the Shadows," by Asprey.

IMO, these provide a good basis for understanding guerilla warfare (including insurgency and terrorism) before moving on to more advanced work such as Killcullen.

It looks like my University's library doesn't subscribe to Military History, so I'll have to try and find it somewhere else. I'll check out the other suggestions .

I'd thought about using Guevera and, possibly Lawrence as well from the SWJ library. I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about using online sources - they're free .

Marc

[J Wolfsberger]

I completely forgot about "Seven Pillars of Wisdom."

[Merv Benson]

Marc, I have a couple I am looking at now. Insurgents Terrorists and Militants by Richard Shultz, Jr. and Andrea J. Dew, and Triumph Forsaken by Mark Moyar. I hope to do a review on both soon and let you know when it is posted. Shultz also wrote The Secret War Against Hanoi: Kennedy and Johnson's Use of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors which was a pretty interesting discussion of how unsuccessful the US was in its own insurgency campaign against the communist. One of our few successes involved a scheme to turn the communist counterinsurgency operations against themselves.

They noticed that whenever we did an insertion the communist would not be content with just killing the few people we put in, but would lash out against anyone who may have come in contact with them. They developed a scheme to repatriate communist POW's via parachute drops with contact information hidden in their clothing. The program was stopped during one of President Johnson's bombing pauses and never restarted.

[Tom Odom]

I don't have a copy of your bibliography. Is it in the SWJ library or online?

Just emailed it to you.

best

Tom

[marct]

Hi Merv,

Marc, I have a couple I am looking at now. Insurgents Terrorists and Militants by Richard Shultz, Jr. and Andrea J. Dew, and Triumph Forsaken by Mark Moyar. I hope to do a review on both soon and let you know when it is posted. Shultz also wrote The Secret War Against Hanoi: Kennedy and Johnson's Use of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors which was a pretty interesting discussion of how unsuccessful the US was in its own insurgency campaign against the communist. One of our few successes involved a scheme to turn the communist counterinsurgency operations against themselves.

They noticed that whenever we did an insertion the communist would not be content with just killing the few people we put in, but would lash out against anyone who may have come in contact with them. They developed a scheme to repatriate communist POW's via parachute drops with contact information hidden in their clothing. The program was stopped during one of President Johnson's bombing pauses and never restarted.

What an intriguing idea! I'll look forward to your reviews of the books.

Mac

[Steve Blair]

The Secret War Against Hanoi is a great book, although it is in part a tale of paths not taken in covert war. Many of their ideas were borrowed from OSS operations against Germany in World War II (to include the idea of sending nasty letters to Party members in hopes of getting them investigated/executed and thus lowering cadre morale). Good stuff.