David Kilcullen
Blood Year
The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism
Oxford UP, 2016
Aperçu
A realistic history of America’s Middle East war from a former soldier and senior diplomatic adviser.
Recommendation
In this engagingly written overview, counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen offers a sharp analysis of the Middle East’s decline. He describes himself as a “midlevel player” in these events – as an “Australian professional soldier, as a civilian intelligence officer, then as a US government employee” in the War on Terror. Kilcullen delivers an intriguing look at the Islamic State’s ingenious battle tactics, and warns that its “leaderless resistance” model portends further attacks on the Western world. While always politically neutral, getAbstract recommends Kilcullen’s excellent reporting to those seeking objective insight into a contentious region.
Summary
About the Author
Author of Out of the Mountains, The Accidental Guerilla and Counterinsurgency, David Kilcullen is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and chair of Caerus Associates. He’s served as an “Australian professional soldier, as a civilian intelligence officer, then as a US government employee.” He was General David Petraeus’s senior advisor in Iraq in 2007.
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