Sunday, October 26, 2014

Interview / Book: John Nagl and "Knife Fights"

Once again, by way of Octavian Manea (the interviewer) Small Wars Journal brings us a great interview - this time of John Nagl, a retired Army officer, proponent of counterinsurgency, and author of several books. Nagl's newest book is Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern war in Theory and Practice, The Penguin Press, New York 2014. Nagl rose to prominence with his book "How to Eat Soup With a Knife". He also was one of the principle writers for the December 2006 issue of FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency. In the interview, Octavian Manea, asks Nagl several questions; some that reflect upon the war in Afghanistan:



1. What are the lessons to remember from the post 9/11 campaigns?
2. Why the title "Knife Fights"?
3. What is / was the center of gravity in Washington?
4. Tell us about Don Rumsfeld.
5. Who are the core formative thinkers and what are the takeaways that shaped your COIN worldview?
6. How do insurgencies end?
7. What about leveraging host nation governments?
8. What happened after the Iraq surge?
9. How do we build a better peace?
10. Is there a need in the future for a "small wars capability"?
11. What should NATO do about hybrid warfare in Europe?
12. What about the Arab spring?
13. What about Vietnam and what should be the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan?
14. Comments on 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance.

Nagl provides us with some very good answers. View the interview at the link below:
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/knife-fights-john-nagl%E2%80%99s-reflections-on-the-practice-of-modern-war

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