Counter Insurgency

David Kilcullen

Scribe Publications 2010

David Kilcullen has presented here a series of essays and writings about the theory and practice of countering insurgency – non-elected groups trying to take over or destabilise an existing government by force. He quotes many examples from history and from his own experience and builds up a picture of what is an insurgent and suggests ways of countering them by non-traditional methods.

He raises an interesting point that “a Government that is losing to an insurgency isn’t being outfought, it’s being outgoverned”. People just want a quiet life and if this means tolerating insurgency they will do so in the absence of a better government. If the legitimate government bodies are corrupt, do not provide basic services or fail to provide basic justice then the insurgents may win “hearts and minds” by doing so themselves. It is interesting to compare this approach with another book recently reviewed, The War For Ireland 1913 – 1923 edited by Peter Cottrell. During the Irish “Easter Uprising” a Nationalist group declared themselves the Provisional Government of Ireland. They were thoroughly ignored by the populace, who despite any Nationalist leanings they may have had could see no advantage in a civil war. The uprising failed. Kilcullen contrasts the situation in Afghanistan where the government has practically no presence in many provinces. Such administration as exists is corrupt, especially the police. The Taliban has moved in to exploit this and established Sharia courts that at least give the local people some redress and a dispute-solving mechanism.

Although military action is one of the counter-insurgency tools, Kilcullen points out that it may often bring collateral damage that can destroy any goodwill very quickly. It is surprising to see a military man suggesting that the military should look at non-military options, but his reasoning makes sense. An example he gives is Indonesia which during its independence faced insurgency over which model of government it should adopt. An Islamic group, Darul Islam, wanted the new country to be a fully Islamic state. They began insurgency operations. The Indonesian military countered this by a “wall of legs” technique – each night the villagers would surround their own village. Ostensibly to keep insurgents out, it also effectively locked any local insurgents in and stopped them creating mischief. It was a low-cost approach and had no collateral damage apart from a bunch of tired farmers each morning.

Kilcullen has learned a lot from his extensive Army experience. Unlike an armchair expert he has been on the ground and seen insurgency in practice so his opinions are important. They are an interesting change from the traditional “bomb them back to the Stone Age” approach that still seems to be in favour in some areas. As he recounts some of his experiences it is easy to see how quickly a minor situation can blow up, as in the shootout between Indonesian troops and militia and Australian troops at Motaiin Bridge in East Timor. This introduced a political dimension that led to the official version of the incident being far removed from what actually happened. Kilcullen highlights the need for training to handle this sort of event. In the end it was his training and skill in the local language that helped calm down the issue.

Experience like this should not be ignored. Although Kilcullen admits he has modified his opinions in some off his writings, his experience is beyond question and his suggestions should be closely studied.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 4 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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