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<a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> 79 M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 D avid Kilcullen’s new book is a travelogue of his lengthy intellectual and foreign treks into the bowels of human conflict. His composition is in reality a groundbreaking and comprehensive look at all three levels of war. Since this book discusses no less than three ongo- ing complex or hybrid conflicts, which by definition are more than simply in- surgencies, it is not simply a primer but is doctoral-level material. Be prepared to learn and think when you peruse this book. Dr. Kilcullen, an adviser to GEN David H. Petraeus, prefers the term “hybrid warfare” to better capture the mixed brew of simultaneous phenom- ena that we face today. His experience and field research led him to conclude that while many classical counterinsur- gency techniques apply to modern conflicts, in overall terms we face a transfigured form of hybrid warfare that renders many of our traditional ideas irrelevant. He also notes that this is not a Muslim way of war but an emerging challenge seen in Latin America and Asia as well. His opening chapter explains his “accidental guerrilla” thesis—our inad- vertent creation of numerous fighters among locals with a fairly understand- able if not legitimate desire to fight the occupier infidel. Three large chapters detail ongoing conflicts today in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. His strategic way ahead wraps up this inci- sive treatise. Kilcullen deftly criticizes the current fragmented Afghanistan campaign. His argument for an integrated cross-bor- der strategy reflects an essential point that the Obama administration’s ongo- ing strategic reassessment should also embrace. Kilcullen’s chapter on Iraq is unique. His insights into the Sunni tribal re- vival in Al Anbar Province are detailed, and he goes into the potential down- sides of building up that element of Iraqi society. The book’s best chapter is the penul- timate one, titled “Turning the Ele- phant Into a Mouse.” He avers we have fallen for the cost imposing strategy of Bin Laden and turned the Takfiri ter- rorists from a proverbial mouse into an elephant. Kilcullen frames a strategy for reversing the process. He is con- structively critical of American military leaders who failed to realize the dis- continuities of today’s conflict from their previous experience. To succeed in the big war, he urges building up nonmilitary capacity for development, retaining our moral au- thority, disaggregating the hardcore from the merely accidental guerrilla, gaining a larger consensus with an Aca- dia like conference, and understanding the limits of American power. He is unfailingly cautious about getting into protracted conflicts but offers prudent counsel about the messy irregular wars that are all but unavoidable today. Kil- cullen combines unparalleled scholar- ship in the social sciences with penetrating analyses of military history and operations. While he may be opti- mistic with his prognosis for events in Iraq, his assessment of how we mis- handled the conflicts to date is hard to refute. More importantly his strategic recommendations for the future are soundly grounded in theory and are ev- idence based. This book is essential reading. >Editor’s Note: A version of this review ap- peared online in the Small Wars Journal av<a href="http://www.smallwarsjournal.com">ailable at www.smallwarsjournal.com.</a> THE ACCIDENTAL GUERRILLA: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. By David Kilcullen. Oxford University Press, New York ISBN 9780195368345, 2009, 346 pp. $27.95 (Member $25.15) Winning Today’s Hybrid Warfare reviewed LtCol F.G. Hoffman, USMCR(Ret) >LtCol Hoffman is a noted defense analyst and frequent contributor to the Gazette.
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ailable at www.smallwarsjournal.com.