This book will change the way you think about war, terrorism, and guerrilla warfare. David Kilcullen, an Australian with extensive experience in many operating theaters around the world strikes at the heart of why these situations arise, he analyzes the followers and not just the leaders.

The reason why most analysts and pundits get the "war on terrorism" wrong, is because they don't grasp the fundamental basis of why insurgencies exist. As Kilcullen argues, "insurgency is a mass social phenomenon." In other words, it is a populist social movement formed in response to real or perceived oppressions. The masses who have been manipulated into such movements are what Kilcullen calls, the "accidental guerrilla," people who aren't really hardened terrorists but have joined these social movements because of the lack of alternatives.

Kilcullen uses a medical viral analogy to theorize the accidental guerrilla syndrome which I wouldn't personally use, but nevertheless helps to explain why and how insurgencies work. The phases include: Infection; Contagion; Intervention; and Rejection.

The core of Kilcullen's approach to counter-insurgency is simple: population-centric. Everything must be done to protect the population, build up governance and security infrastructure, and foster the creation of a civil society.

Throughout the book, Kilcullen analyzes a number of case studies including Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Thailand, and Europe. Kilcullen praises the strategy of the surge in Iraq, especially the cooption of the Sunni Awakening, but is cautiously optimistic for the future by noting that it could go either way in the future.

Overall, this is one of the best books on counter-insurgency that I've read in a long time. Kilcullen is clearly an expert with decades of field experience, and his writing is pretty good to boot. Definitely recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about the "war on terrorism."