image

Jungle of Snakes

A Century of Counterinsurgency Warfare from the Philippines to Iraq

By James R. Arnold

July 2010
$20.00
304 pp
5.5 x 8.25 in
Paperback

ISBN-13: 9781608190942
ISBN-10: 1608190943

Jungle of Snakes

A Century of Counterinsurgency Warfare from the Philippines to Iraq

By James R. Arnold

The end of the cold war promised a new era of international peace. Instead, violence has proliferated across the globe. What does history tell us about how this conflict will play out? Noted military historian James R. Arnold delivers an engrossing narrative history of a century of counterinsurgent warfare. Analyzing past campaigns—the United States in the Philippines, the British in Malaya, the French in Algeria, and the United States in Vietnam—Arnold traces patterns of victory and defeat. Patience, determination, and adaptability are needed—an epilogue examines the occupation of Iraq, where America, to its cost, ignored the lessons of history. Jungle of Snakes is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the ongoing worldwide conflict the Pentagon calls the "Long War."

Reviews for Jungle of Snakes

“Delivers needed insight and historical precedent to the current war debate.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A thoughtful history…[Arnold] makes a convincing case that killing insurgents never defeats an insurgency. That happens when a nation’s population feels safe, a painful lesson that America is relearning the hard way in Iraq and Afghanistan.”—Publishers Weekly