Pacification in Algeria, 1956-1958

"[An] inability to absorb and apply, much less even study, the lessons learned in previous counterinsurgency campaigns is a problem that has long afflicted the world's governments and militaries when they are confronted with insurgencies. Guerrilla groups and terrorist organizations, on the other hand, learn very well.... [David Galula's] recollections, mostly as a company commander but also as deputy battalion commander during the last four months of his tour [in Algeria], still have a remarkable, almost timeless resonance nearly half a century later. The parallels with America's own recent experiences in Iraq are striking." - From the new foreword by Bruce Hoffman"