by General Sir Michael Rose KCB CBE DSO OGM (Author)
In 1775, George Washington took command of a ragbag army of American insurgents and took on the might of the British Army. Through a brilliant campaign of ambush and indirect attacks, he finally succeeded in defeating the greatest military power in the world, and won America its independence. Today it is the USA that is the world's dominant superpower. When they entered Iraq in 2003 they made the same mistakes that the British made over 200 years ago: they underestimated the popular hostility against them, and believed they could fight a widespread insurgence using troops trained for conventional warfare. They are beginning to learn, as the British did, that sheer military power is not enough. As a former Director of UK Special Forces and Commander of the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia, Michael Rose is uniquely experienced in counter-insurgency warfare. In this hard-hitting book he explains the principles of guerrilla warfare as used in the American War of Independence, and shows how those same principles have been adopted by the insurgents in Iraq.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 07 Feb 2008
ISBN 10: 0753823551
ISBN 13: 9780753823552
Book Overview: Will be updated for the paperback to cover the exit strategy A controversial book on a highly controversial subject This is history with a pressing relevance to events today General Sir Michael Rose is 'one of Britain's most decorated and experienced battlefield soldiers' Sunday Telegraph 'General Sir Michael Rose has written both a history lesson and an important sustained analogy between the current American-British misadventure in Iraq and the American Revolutionary War. It proves to be no facile comparison. The similarities gain remarkable strength and meaning in this clear-headed analysis. Washingtons War looks forward by looking back, and points the way toward a more intelligent western response to the threat of Islamo-facism worldwide' Mark Bowden, author of BLACK HAWK DOWN