which of the following insurgency elements do the actual fighting and provide security?

It is my sincere hope that the book may be of use to those attempting to make our armed forces more effective in what promises to be a long struggle against enemies who fight freedom with the ancient art of insurgency. In the few pages of this preface I hope to point out omissions and missteps from that first edition, written before my own physical immersion in counterinsurgency, while highlighting some of the things I feel I got right the first time.

Rereading my work now, I am surprised by how much I was able to understand of counterinsurgency before practicing it myself and simultaneously appalled at some of my presumptions and errors. The experience of fighting insurgents in Iraq made me think again about the views expressed in this book-assessments of the British army in Malaya and, especially, of the American army in Vietnam. It was without a doubt the most intense learning period of my life. Our yearlong confrontation in Al Anbar Province was bloody and difficult for the insurgents, for our soldiers, and for the population of the region. The enemy we confronted was implacable, ruthless, and all too often invisible. The Task Force was built around a tank battalion that had been designed, organized, trained, and equipped for conventional combat operations. Eight years after beginning my research into counterinsurgency and a year almost to the day after the publication of the first edition of this book, I deployed to Iraq to practice counterinsurgency as the Operations Officer of the First Battalion of the 34th Armored Regiment, the “Centurions.” From September 24, 2003, through September 10, 2004, I was privileged to serve as Centurion 3 in Khalidiyah, a town of some 30,000 between Fallujah and Ramadi in the Sunni Triangle. NaglĪuthors generally learn something about their subject matter, and then write about it.

The preface to Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam John A. It suggests how to encourage the spirit of innovation-a spirit that helped the British Army succeed in Malaya and that is currently transforming America’s Army in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and around the globe.”-From the Foreword by General Peter J. “Nagl’s study is especially relevant today, and one that military leaders and interested citizens at all levels should read. “ Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife has become must reading for high-level officers in Iraq because its lessons seem so directly applicable to the situation there.”-National Review Online

Which of the following insurgency elements do the actual fighting and provide security?