A Great Lesson from Recent French History

You need to read "How to Win in Iraq" if you want to understand a successful strategy to defeat insurgents -- and how important the politics-at-home front is in this war.

Historian Arthur Herman explains the history of the French war against insurgents in Algeria in the 1950s -- it was one of their colonies, and they were fighting against the FLN. A commander named David Galula developed very effective tactics, and they pretty much won the war in Algeria. But political disaster back in France handed Algeria over to the FLN.

There is a parallel in Vietnam, too.

General Patreus is using tactics very similar to the ones developed in Algeria -- with the same kinds of successes. But political strife in the US could well yield the same result as what happened in France and Algeria -- disastrous for both, really -- fifty years ago.

I strongly recommend this article.