Once again, John Poole proves himself to be on the leading edge of military writers and researchers with this book. As this book goes to press, the Department of Defense is beginning the process of seminars and study groups to look at Irregular Warfare and try to determine how the U.S. military needs to change its education and training processes to combat the "Tactics of the Crescent Moon". This effort is underway even as U.S. soldiers and Marines are engaged in deadly conflict with Muslim irregulars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Recent experience in Iraq reinforces the truism that the nature of war is changing. Fanatics and fundamentalists in the Middle East, using the flexible training techniques described in this book, have adapted and adopted a method of war that seeks to offset America's technical superiority with a tactics that use guile, subterfuge and terror mixed with patience and a willingness to die. This approach allows the weaker to take on the stronger and has proven effective against western-style armies.
It is critical that we recognize what has happened in the Middle East in the last 50 years. Since the Israeli war of independence, Islamic armies are 0 and 7 when fighting western style and 5 and 0 (or 5-0-1, if the current conflict is included) when fighting unconventionally against the more modern and powerful military forces of Israel, the Soviet Union, and now, the United States. The efforts underway within the Department of Defense are focused on the strategic level: how to better educate and prepare military leaders to deal with irregular warfare, how to adapt our intelligence agencies to deal with the low-tech and no-tech human element, etc. They appear to be looking for some future solution, perhaps even new methods and technology to deal with this "new" threat.
Poole's book makes the point that this threat is not new at all. More importantly, it addresses methods, tactics and techniques to deal with these irregulars in a far better way than we have in the past and to deal with them now, not in some undefined future 'transformation' of the U.S. military. He also makes the point-a point that seems obvious to me, even though it doesn't appear to be obvious to our current Defense leadership-that these irregulars are light-infantry forces and that what we most need to deal with them are highly trained light-infantry forces of our own.
As a great admirer of, and proponent for, light-infantry forces, I couldn't agree with him more-we absolutely need more, and better, light-infantry forces in the U.S. establishment. Precision weapons, even as precise as they have become, are not precise enough. Often the bursting radius is greater than the allowable clear area, so even when they hit the exact target that we want, they still do an unacceptable amount of collateral damage. I fear that the precision strikes that we see in the contested cities of Iraq create as many terrorists as they kill. We need good light-infantrymen to go into those cities and kill the terrorists without creating new ones with their 'collateral damage.'
Much like his previous efforts, there are things in this book that will make some American warriors mad. I dislike the idea of flattering terrorists by referring to them as good light-infantrymen, but Poole's main point—that these irregulars have flexible and adaptable training techniques and tactical methods—cannot be denied. This book should be on the shelf of every infantryman, from fire team leader through division commander. It would also be a good primer for those in Washington who send those young warriors into the fight.
Format: Paperback (342 Pages)
Author: H. John Poole
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.28
