Arms of Little Value

In a dangerous era, a former soldier and CIA officer proposes smarter ways to keep the US safe from the effects of insurgencies around the world.   What we’ve been seeing in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and elsewhere in recent years is merely the beginning. We are entering an extremely dangerous period in our history. The author, with over a quarter century of intelligence experience, has been a student, an observer—and sometimes a participant—in various insurgencies since his “initiation” in Vietnam in 1969.   This book offers an understanding of the true nature of insurgency and a glimpse at the reasons why we have not always dealt with it effectively. Drawing from his service in various Third World nations, as well as several successor republics of the former Soviet Union, G.L. Lamborn provides a crucial understanding of what ignites and sustains these movements—and what can prevent them from spreading and spiraling out of control.   “Through case studies and analysis, Lamborn, a former Army and Central Intelligence Agency officer, seeks to explicate the importance of political action to insurgencies and explain how military power is successful only to the extent it delegitimizes an insurgency . . . If readers accept the premise of honest, critical evaluation of military power’s limits, there is much to be gained from Arms of Little Value.” —Military Review