A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq - Couverture rigide

Moyar, Mark

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0300152760 ISBN 13 : 9780300152760

Editeur : Yale University Press, 2009

Synopsis

According to the prevailing view of counterinsurgency, the key to defeating insurgents is selecting methods that will win the people's hearts and minds. The hearts-and-minds theory permeates not only most counterinsurgency books of the twenty-first century but the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, the U.S. military's foremost text on counterinsurgency. Mark Moyar assails this conventional wisdom, asserting that the key to counterinsurgency is selecting commanders who have superior leadership abilities. Whereas the hearts-and-minds school recommends allocating much labor and treasure to economic, social, and political reforms, Moyar advocates concentrating resources on security, civil administration, and leadership development. Moyar presents a wide-ranging history of counterinsurgency, from the Civil War and Reconstruction to Afghanistan and Iraq, that draws on the historical record and interviews with hundreds of counterinsurgency veterans, including top leaders in today's armed forces. Through a series of case studies, Moyar identifies the ten critical attributes of counterinsurgency leadership and reveals why these attributes have been much more prevalent in some organizations than others. He explains how the U.S. military and America's allies in Afghanistan and Iraq should revamp their personnel systems in order to elevate more individuals with those attributes. A Question of Command will reshape the study and practice of counterinsurgency warfare. With counterinsurgency now one of the most pressing issues facing the United States, this book is a must-read for policymakers, military officers, and citizens.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

'One of the great mistakes we made after the Vietnam War was forgetting what we learned there. Mark Moyar has ensured that we don''t forget what we learned in Iraq over the last seven years - and has also re-captured lessons from earlier conflicts.' --Thomas E. Ricks, author of 'Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq' and 'The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008'

Biographie de l'auteur

Mark Moyar is the Kim T. Adamson Chair of Insurgency and Terrorism at the U.S. Marine Corps University. A historian and an analyst of contemporary national security affairs, he is the author of 'Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965', and 'Phoenix and the Birds of Prey: Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism in Vietnam'.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Yale University Press
• Date d'édition: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0300152760
• ISBN 13: 9780300152760
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 368