Center for a New American Security

“The Accidental Guerrilla” is not an easy book. It’s best when Kilcullen uses narrative to recount his personal experiences. Then, he becomes a military adventurer, a modern Fitzroy MacLean: wandering through volcanic jungles; or flying in a Blackhawk over northwest Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonates on the ground below, nearly plunging him to his death.

Kilcullen’s knowledge of warfare is highly sophisticated, but he does himself and his readers no favors when he weighs his book down with acronyms and digressions. For those not willing to put in the time and effort, reading “The Accidental Guerrilla” could be like a junior high school student’s attempting “Ulysses.”

Even so, this book is essential. One of the larger mistakes America has made in its handling of the Long War against Al Qaeda was ignoring the details of small conflicts that are so important to Kilcullen. What is needed, he points out, is to develop strategies that deal both with global terrorism and conflicts at the local level.

Kilcullen skillfully interprets the future of counterinsurgency, the proper use of military force and what we must learn from our losses and mistakes.

After reading “The Accidental Guerrilla,” one is left to wonder why the Pentagon did not listen to his sage advice back in 2003, instead of that of all those cheery optimists who predicted the Iraqis would greet the American forces with flowers.