Terrorist Trail: Backtracking the Foreign Fighter

by H. John Poole and Ray L. Smith

Book Overview

Within Terrorist Trail are both new intelligence and tactical technique for winning the War on Terror. This heavily illustrated book covers not only urban mantracking procedures, but also how the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963869590
• ISBN13: 9780963869593
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Posterity Press (NC)
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 3.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

No better trail to winning, redefining the war on terror

Only a few military thinkers have given us the insight and practical helps that John Poole has over the years. In this work, "Gunny" Poole provides the insight we need to win the war on terror. Poole helps us see that it is not so much a military problem or even a political problem as it is a law enforcement problem. The problems have no quick solutions like bombing and killing as many insurgents as possible. It is a fourth-generation-war (4GW) that requires a 4GW solution. 4GW is marked by non-national networked entities who provide too few targets for bombing to have any effect other than the effect of creating more recruits for their ranks. 4GW forces thrive on devastation and insecurity of the people; increasing the devastation and insecurity, as in with most military approaches, is counterproductive in that they are nothing more than greenhouses for terror. What are needed, according to Poole, are small near-autonomous units of truly light infantry that can play the role of police force rather than occupiers in the greenhouses of terror. It requires a paradigm shift in the military away from centralized control and micromanagement much as the late Col. John Boyd often argued. It requires truly creative thought more than top-down bureaucratic mandates or emphasis on force protection at the expense of population protection. It requires a new way of seeing insurgent recruits as the dispossessed who can be won to our side rather than being martyrs for theirs. The primary hurdle for such reform is, as so often, money. Light infantry police forces do not require the high-tech gadgets that so enamour the big military establishment and supporting defense corporations. No amount of common sense will likely overcome those pressures on American politics. Yet the John Poole's of the world cannot and hopefully will not remain silent. Poole is perhaps, one of the most innovative and creative thinkers to have served in the US military. He understands from experience that his observations will not likely create the revolution in military and political thinking required to bring about these changes. Yet, he is one more voice crying in the wilderness, and we can pray that his observations can be heard before long. Get it, recommend it to your congressman, share it with military people on your gift lists. Help spread the word any way you can; it is a serious matter that needs to be addressed and only with the clamour of a great crowd will it be heard.

Much Needed Answers to Many Important Questions About Iraq

I just returned from leading an infantry platoon in one of the worst regions in Iraq. Despite my platoon's best efforts, I cannot say we did much to make the overall situation any better. Instead, things seem to be getting worse and worse. Politicians and leaders seem to be having trouble coming up with a new plan or strategy to turn the tide in Iraq. This is unfortunate considering people like John Poole have already come up with very intelligent, practical solutions to the problems we are facing over there. When you read Terrorist Trail and other books by John Poole, you realize that there are ways to solve the problems that seem to have no solution. If only decision-makers and planners would listen to John Poole, we might be able to take the initiative in the war on terror. I am quite sure that my unit could have made much greater progress had we operated according to John Poole's doctrine. Aside from offering practical solutions to the challenges of counterinsurgency, John Poole also answers some questions that were constantly on my mind when I was in Iraq... Who are these "insurgents" or "foreign fighters" or "jihadists" and where do they come from? What are their goals, their loyalties and mentalities? I could not answer these kind of questions about most of the people I fought in Iraq. If knowing your enemy is an essential part of victory, I was way behind the curve. Coming back and reading Terrorist Trail, a lot of the patterns and experiences I ran into over there start to make a lot more sense. I wish I had read Terrorist Trail before I deployed.

A Rare Find

Terrorist Trail: Backtracking the Foreign Fighter offers small unit leaders additional options for their mental toolbox. Poole's latest work goes through history to identify some the most rare and influential finds in the realm of small unit warfare used in Africa and the Middle East. Techniques like man tracking, egalitarian leadership in small units, infiltration and many more provide leaders insights into how to successfully employ each of these measures to achieve success against technologically superior forces as well as guerilla or insurgent forces. It goes without saying that this book is another must read.

A voice in the wilderness

H. John Poole provides yet another volume of hard-hitting information in his quest to reveal the motives and tactics of America's enemies and refocus the efforts of the American military on victory. In this latest work, Poole begins with a wide-angle focus on the connection between Africa, China, and Islamic terrorists. In his signature style he outlines the history of the current conflict, drawing in threads that are often overlooked by the mainstream of reporting. He closely studies motivations, strategy, and tactics used by America's enemies. But this is no mere work of theory--Poole also takes the next step and makes specific recommendations for how to restructure our own military doctrine and tactics to achieve victory over the terrorists. Though more detail would be helpful here (and Poole lists every reference he has used) the later chapters of this book could almost be applied as a training manual for troops currently engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. More important still, Poole sheds light on what is wrong with our own military. From his first book Poole has decried the use of the doctrine of overwhelming firepower and called for a return to flexible, small-unit tactics and innovative leadership. Only in this manner can the sons and daughters of America engage the terrorist and win. His words may sound like heresy to commanders who have grown up believing in heavy armament and overwhelming firepower. But as conflicts drag on in Iraq and Afghanistan to no particular resolution, Poole's words take on a hint of prophecy. Poole has been a voice in the wilderness for far too long. It is time for military and intelligence leaders to take a good hard look not only at our enemies but at our own forces and doctrine. Poole's work is perhaps the best place to start. This book, and indeed all of Poole's previous works, deserve a place of honor on any military leader's bookshelf, and are worth their weight in a deploying soldier's rucksack. I referred to Poole's previous works regularly when I was last deployed to Iraq.

Terrorist Trail

Every military, law enforcement, and national security professional needs to read Poole's Terrorist Trail and his other books. You can bet our enemies are reading and studying them. My personal experiences in Iraq (2 tours)coincides with Poole's writings. The tactics, techniques, procedures and grand strategy of Islamic extremists fighting U.S. and coalition forces continue to improve marked by a distinctive appreciation of fourth generation warfare. John Poole's Terrorist Trail poignantly reminds us how successful Islamic extremists are taking on our conventional modern armed forces with low or no technologies and tactics using IEDs, RPGs, snipers, suicide bombers, and small arms at very close ranges.Poole describes how Islamic extremists using fourth generation warfare thinking and tactics are steadily expanding and creating new battlefronts. This book is a must read to understand the fourth generation threat to Western culture and how our fourth generation enemies use terrorism to undermine and counter conventional forces.