In "Insurgency and Terrorism", Bard O'Neill has provided his audience (whether a fighting man or a student) with a framework through which to analyse insurgencies, past, present and future. O'Neill states that he believes that insurgencies are likely to remain a key level of conflict in the future. I agree with him. This is an important area and one which receives all too little attention, especially, in my experience, among the armed forces of the United States. Hopefully Dr O'Neill will redress the balance a little.

The book is split into 9 sections;

- Insurgency in the Contemporary World
- The Nature of Insurgency
- Insurgent Strategies
- The Environment
- Popular Support
- Organisation and Unity
- External Support
- Government Response
- Conclusions

In each case, O'Neill splits the areas up into smaller sub-sections for easy reference. He deals with different types of insurgent groups, different ways insurgents operate, the effects of terrain and outside support, the coverage is fairly comprehensive. He also, usefully, uses historical examples to illustrate his points.

As O'Neill himself points out, no framework for analysis can be infallible or perfect, but this is a pretty good start, whether you are in a counter-insurgency situation or in a seminar room. Good stuff. It should, of course, be supplemented with further reading (a bibliography would have been useful) but all in all this is an excellent piece of work in a field that has been somewhat neglected in recent times (it isn't fashionable in America at the best of times and many of the classic texts are now out of print).

A good piece of follow-up reading to this book (especially for a student) would be Ian Beckett's "Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies".

Dr. Bard O'Neill has written a superb book that presents a clear framework for analyzing and understanding terrorist activity and violent insurgent activities. I highly recommend this book for the military student, political scientist and the armchair strategist alike.

Insurgency & Terrorism was one of my textbooks when I attended the U.S. Army's Command & General Staff College. The author systemically dissects insurgency and terrorism so that one may understand the causes, effects and very nature of revolutionary warfare. He examines the nature of revolutionary war (causes and effects)and the strategist's ways, means and ends. He clearly lays out a framework for one to understand the nature of a particular conflict. O'Neill then goes on to examine various strategies used by terrorists and insurgents. He discusses such critical factors as popular & external support, governmental response, and the political conditions that created the atmosphere for insurgency. He uses historical examples to illustrate specific points. O'Neill discusses the Spanish guerrilla movement to combat Napoleon's invasion, the American revolutionary effort, Soviet partisans attacking the Nazi invaders, the numerous Central American insurgencies and Cuba, and Bernard Fall's commentaries on the Vietnamese insurgency of the 50s and 60s. O'Neill also delves into the theoretical, Lenin's theories of revolution and Mao's guerrilla war strategies are particulary valuable in illustrating his points.

The value of this book is in providing the student of revolutionary warfare a framework with which to evaluate and analyze insurgencies and terrorist activities. An excellent tool and highly recommended.