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A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962
I'm not very good at History, so I'll let JFM comment on that, but IIUC, the "psychological war" (that is, counter-insurgency and the political/ideological war, as opposed to the purely "military" war) was also won by the french armed forces, to the point a very significant part of arab algerians had enlisted in the various pro-french militia and groups (they out-numbered independentists by 10/1 or more), and that the post-60's western doctrine of counter-insurgency was largely built on french teachings (that know-how was for example exported to South America).Book Review by Amir Taheri If President George W Bush's political enemies are to be believed, the one thing he has never done is read a book. So, it might come as a surprise that Bush spent part of his holiday last Christmas reading a thick book sent to him as a present by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In a little note attached to the parcel, Kissinger speculated that the president might find the book of interest in view of the challenges the United States faces in Iraq. The book in question is "A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962", by the historian Alistair Horne and originally published three decades ago. The book has been a "must-read" for anyone interested in guerrilla wars and the anti-colonial armed struggles in the so-called Third World. It could be read both as a thrilling narrative of the eight-year long conflict and a manual on tactics and strategy in guerrilla warfare. In a preface for the new paperback edition. Horne clearly draws attention to parallels between the Algerian war and the current conflict in Iraq. He recalls the fact that the French antagonized many Algerians through indiscriminate mass arrests, at times followed by mistreatment and even torture of prisoners. Although the Abu-Ghuraib incidents in which a dozen or so US soldiers humiliated their Iraqi prisoners did not occur because of official American policy, the impact on many Iraqis was devastating. Horne also claims that the US policy of enabling the new Iraqi army and police to control the country is doomed. In Algeria, too, more Algerians were fighting in the ranks of the French army than against it. And, yet, a much smaller force of guerrillas and terrorists succeeded in raising the cost of the conflict in human terms to levels that the French public could not tolerate. Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-02-19 |
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