The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One

377 Pages·2009·2.67 MB·English

by  David Kilcullen

The Accidental Guerrilla
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The
Accidental
Guerrilla
Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
david kilcullen
1
2009
1
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Copyright © 2009 by David Kilcullen
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kilcullen, David.
The accidental guerrilla : fi ghting small wars in the midst of a big one /
David Kilcullen.
p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-536834-5
1. Guerrilla warfare. 2. Counterinsurgency. 3. Military history, Modern—20th century.
4. Military history, Modern—21st century. 5. Afghan War, 2001–06. Iraq War, 2003–07. War on
Terrorism, 2001–08. United States—Military policy. I. Title. II. Title: Accidental guerrilla
U240. K49 2009
355.4'25—dc22 2008054870
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
Acknowledgments xi
Preface xiii
Prologue: West Java, December 1996 xxi
1 The Accidental Guerrilla 1
2 “The Crazies Will Kill Them”:
Afghanistan, 2006–2008 39
3 “The Twenty-First Day”:
Iraq during the Surge, 2007 115
4 “Terrain, Tribes and Terrorists”:
Confl icts from Indonesia to Europe 186
5 “Turning an Elephant into a Mouse”:
Beyond the War on Terrorism 263
Conclusion 291
A Note on Sources and Methodology 303
Notes 307
Index 341
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List of Abbreviations
ADZ A fghan Development Zones (ISAF development and security
project)
AFF A meriya Freedom Fighters (Iraqi tribal fi ghters opposed to AQI)
ANA Afghan National Army
ANAP Afghan National Auxiliary Police
ANCOP Afghan National Civil Order Police
ANDS Afghan National Development Strategy
ANP Afghan National Police
ANSF Afghan National Security Forces
AQ al Qa’ida
AQI al Qa’ida in Iraq (Iraqi AQ affi liate)
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
AUSAID Australian Agency for International Development
BCT brigade combat team (United States Army)
BRN Barisan Revolusi Nasional (Patani Malay Muslim guerrilla
movement)
BRN-C Barisan Revolusi Nasional Coordinasi (successor movement to
BRN)
CERP Commander’s Emergency Response Program (rapid aid/devel-
opment funds for counterinsurgency)
CFC–A Combined Forces Command–Afghanistan
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CLC concerned local citizens
CN counternarcotics
CNRT Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense (Timorese
National Resistance Council)
CPA Coalition Provisional Authority
DAC District Advisory Council (Iraq)
DEA Drug Enforcement Administration (United States)
DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)
DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom)
DI Dar’ul Islam (Indonesian separatist Muslim guerrilla movement)
DOD Department of Defense (United States)
DOS Department of State (United States)
viii List of Abbreviations
EFP Explosively-formed Projectile (especially lethal form of IED)
EPRT Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team
FALINTIL Forças Armadas da Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste
FATA F ederally Administered Tribal Areas (central region of the
Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier)
FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Offi ce (United Kingdom)
FID foreign internal defense (military technique of indirect sup-
port to at-risk government)
FRETILIN F rente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente
(Timorese guerrilla movement)
FSP F orça Sigurança Popular (People’s Security Force; CNRT
security organization)
GAM Gerakan Aceh Merdeka
GIA Groupe Islamique Armée (Algerian terrorist group)
GOA Government of Afganistan
GSPC G roupe Salafi ste pour La Prédication et le Combat
(North African al Qa’ida affi liate)
HiG Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin
HUT Hizb-ut Tahrir
IED improvised explosive device
INL International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau
(U.S. State Department)
INP Iraqi National Police
INTERFET International Force East Timor
IO information operations
IRD Information Research Department (of the FCO)
ISAF International Security Assistance Force (Afghanistan)
ISI I nter-Services Intelligence Directorate (Pakistani intelli-
gence service)
ISR intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
JAM Jaysh al-Mahdi
JI Jema’ah Islamiyah (Southeast Asian AQ Affi liate)
JI Jemaat e-Islami (Pakistani political party)
JIATF Joint Interagency Task Force
KMTC Kabul Military Training Center
KOPASSUS Komando Pasukan Khusus (Indonesian special forces)
LeT Lasykar e-Tayyiba (Pakistani terrorist group)
LZ Landing Zone
MANPADS man-portable air defense system
List of Abbreviations ix
MNC-I Multi-National Corps—Iraq
MNF-I Multinational Force—Iraq
MSF Medecins Sans Frontieres
NAC Neighborhood Advisory Council (Iraq)
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NDS National Directorate of Security (Afghan intelligence service)
NGO Nongovernmental organization
NII Negara Islam Indonesia
NSS 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States 2002
NWFP North-West Frontier Province
PRT provincial reconstruction team
PULO Patani United Liberation Organization
PUPJI P edoman Umum Perjuangan Jema’ah Islamiyah (General Guide
to the Jemaah Islamiyah Struggle—JI strategy document)
QDR Quadrennial Defense Review
QJBR T anzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi l Bilad ar-Rafi dayn (former name of
AQI)
R Bureau for Public Diplomacy (U.S. State Department)
RCT regimental combat team (United States Marines)
RPG rocket propelled grenade
RPKAD R esimen Para-Kommando Angkatan Darat (Indonesian Army
Airborne Forces)
RTF reconstruction task force
SAI Sahawa al-‘Iraq (the Iraqi Awakening:tribal revolt against AQI)
SAM surface-to-air missile
SASR Special Air Service Regiment (Australia)
SOA Sons of Anbar
SOF special operations forces
SOFA Status of Forces Agreement
TNI Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian military)
TNSM Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan
UNAMI United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
UNTAET United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USIA United States Information Agency (abolished 1999)
USM–I United States Mission–Iraq
UW unconventional warfare