Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare

Apologies if this reads a little like a proud parent showing off a small child’s new trick, but I think it’s warranted! Last week the advance copies for Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare arrived in the office. This book publishes in April, and I was very keen to get my hands on an actual copy and check that it had pulled through the occasionally traumatic publishing process intact. And I’m pleased to report that it has, it looks great and it has some wonderful pre-publication reviews from some very well-respected gentlemen on the cover.

Insurgency and counterinsurgency are very much buzz words in the media at the moment, especially in reference to Iraq and Afghanistan. Given their work with the British and US armies respectively, I do feel that the two academic editors, Daniel Marston and Carter Malkasian, are uniquely placed to put together this collection of all-new essays covering counterinsurgency over the last century, with each author not only discussing a different insurgency and counterinsurgency, but evaluating how the counterinsurgency campaign was shaped, or not, by previous conflicts, and what they in turn contributed to the development of strategies and tactics over the year. I have to admit to finding it far more fascinating that I originally expected, and having thoroughly enjoyed reading it through three times…

Daniel and Carter worked very hard to get great authors working on the book, to evaluate and check all the chapters over, and of course  to write their own chapters, on Afghanistan and Iraq respectively, particularly impressive given both men have spent quite a lot of the last few months in sandy places. The authors are a great bunch, and include other men who have first-hand experience of this type of warfare, including Colonel Richard Iron, who write on Northern Ireland 1967–2007, having spent several tours there, and Lieutenant Colonel John Nagl, who contributed a chapter on Vietnam. It has been a great experience for me to work with such an interesting group of contributors, and I do hope they are as pleased with the result as I am!