The New Counterinsurgency Era

Ucko shows how the U.S. Military has and has not adapted its strategies and tactics in response to the Iraq War. It also discusses the military culture surrounding change, speculating about whether the adaptations are likely to become permanent changes or not. It also addresses the use of the military as a foreign policy tool, questioning whether military leaders will continue to choose the types of wars they want to fight or prepare for others that the U.S. ignores only at its own risk.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

The New Counterinsurgency Era: Transforming the U.S. Military for Modern Wars
David H. Ucko
U 241 .U256 2009

A Question of Command

Most writing on counterinsurgency has focused on identifying the strategies that will win the hearts and minds of the population that the insurgents are fighting within. Moyar makes a different argument, asserting instead that superior leadership skills are the key to winning in an insurgency. He advocates concentrating resources on security, civil administration and leadership development, rather than on economic, social, and political reforms. Based on historical materials beginning with the Civil war as well as interviews with veterans of counterinsurgency battles, Moyar identifies critical leadership attributes and why these traits make leaders more successful in counterinsurgency environments. This book is eye-opening, particularly for those who have been involved in the War in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq
Mark Moyar
U 241 .M69 2009