Quote Originally Posted by Michael C View Post
Also, the most commonly cited counter-insurgency experts is David Galula and he published a long time ago.
Sniff. A long time ago. A LONG time ago. Hmmmph. I bought his book, first edition, in 1964 at the Smoke Bomb Hill bookstore as a 30-something Platoon Sergeant.

Long time ago indeed...

(Ken exits left to procure another refill mumbling something about "...young whippersnappers." : )

P.S.

On a serious note:

Most of what Galula wrote, as is true of Clausewitz and others, is poorly understood and very poorly applied. With good reason; times change and no two wars are alike. Galula in particular applies French practice and logic primarily to North Africans and to a lesser extent to Viet Namese. Those ideas are not universally applicable. Study them all but do so critically, try not to agree with them but to pick holes in their arguments. No one has all the answers...