Pentagon's on right course

Fire of Liberty

Finally, the Pentagon has been given a greater amount of freedom in their abilities to strike at the heart of the terrorists. In the same manner that we achieved success in Afghanistan with The Northern Alliance, the Pentagon will be able to use the special forces to recruit indigenous help in the battlefield. This is a good step in our counter-terrorism fight.

This follows a path of effective counter insurgency actions by the British against the Japanese in WWII, Malayan Communists from 1948-1960 and in Africa. The US also have done this in the past in the Philippines and other countries within our own hemisphere in the 20th Century. Check out this article in the International Herald Tribune.

These classic examples of an effective counter-insurgency can be found in two wonderful books. The first is Fire in the Night: Wingate of Burma, Ethiopia, and Zion by John Berma. The book details the actions of General Orde Wingate throught various counter-insurgent battles in the jungles of Asia and the deserts of Africa and the Middle East.

The Second is Max Boot's wonderful book The Savage Wars of Peace ,which details the effectiveness of our counter-insurgecy battles throughout the Western Hemisphere and within Asia.