The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One

In the end, apparently, everyone wants to write a book about how the planet should be run. Much of what Kilcullen writes is very sensible and persuasive, when he's explaining the nitty gritty of insurgencies. When he re-designs western policy, he's weak. This is two books. The first is a lucid explanation of how insurgencies work, with emphasis on the fact that "insurgents" vary from the dedicated cadre to the accidental guerrilla of the title. Local policy must be designed so that the less dedicated insurgents are dissuaded from continuing with their guerrilla activities, while the most dedicated are dissuaded from continuing with any of their bodily functions. While this part of the book suffers a milder form of the European-State Department view of the world (surely, if some locals take up arms to get in on the fun, they understand that the other side shoots back, right?), this is what makes the book worth reading. Kilcullen is one of the leading authorities on insurgency, and we are fortunate to be able to read his discussion of the topic without enlisting. The second part of the book is harder to justify reading. When Kilcullen switches to geostrategic vision, he sounds like any European or State Department strategist. If you think that's brilliant, you're in for a treat. If not, you'll be bored at best. Either way, you don't need this book to give you the conventional wisdom, we're soaking in it. Still, the book is well worth reading for the ground-level view of guerrilla warfare, since it seems to be the wave of the future.