[lit-ideas] Arthur Herman on Iraq

Arthur Herman, author of the excellent piece "Getting Serious About Iran: A Military Option," has a new article called "How To Win In Iraq, And How To Lose" in the April issue of Commentary. It has been posted to OpinionJournal and is well worth reading. He argues that
...the historical record is clear. The roots of failure in fighting insurgencies like the one in Iraq are not military. To the contrary, Western militaries have shown remarkable skill in learning and relearning the crucial lessons of how to prevail against unconventional foes, and tremendous bravery in fighting difficult and unfamiliar battles. If Iraq fails, the cause will have to be sought elsewhere.
He goes on to liken our present experience with the one the French had in in Algeria, where a mobile insurgency caused chaos and loss of face over and over until the French changed their tactics and put the insurgents on the defensive. He cites David Galula with the tactics that eventually broke the back of the insurgents and notes that while Galula's book Counterinsurgency Warfare was virtually unknown two years ago, it is now "the bible of American counterinsurgency thinkers like Gen. Petraeus, whose field manual it largely informs." 

Good stuff.  Read it.

Brian
Birmingham, AL

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