Originally Posted by
MattC86
Just finished Anthony James Joes' Urban Guerrilla Warfare. Interesting book, but he seemed to say, essentially, that urban guerillas can cause a lot of damage and headaches, but in the end are doomed to fail, as they violate too many of Mao's cherished tenets on insurgency. He even claimed, in the end, the Chechens were defeated in Grozny, because the Russians took the city.
I felt he focused too much on who won the battle instead of who won the "war" - the political dimension and context, so critical in insurgency/COIN ops, was seemingly entirely omitted. Interesting but flawed read. Short, though.
Just started Michael C. Fowler's "Amateur Soldiers, Global Wars." Has anyone read this? If so, what do you think of his arguments? In essence, he takes Hammes' 4GW concept to the extreme - really to a 5GW - in challenging the traditional concepts of political power, armed forces, and victory. It's an interesting and provocative read, so far, but is so nontraditional in its concepts and arguments that I'd be very interested in what any other SWC members have to say about it.
Also, if could be so bold, can I suggest (if only for my own benefit) that posters write a quick blurb about the books they read in addition to identifying it, so that we can get an idea of whether it is worth tracking down or not?
Matt
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