When the U.S. military invaded Iraq, it  lacked a common understanding of the problems inherent in counterinsurgency campaigns. It had neither studied them, nor developed doctrine and tactics to deal with them. It is fair to say that in 2003, most Army officers knew more about the U.S. Civil War tha...

The Green Berets—a legendary corps of soldiers whose exploits made military history. But now, its very identity and role as a fighting force may be forever changed . . . Until the war in Iraq, Special Forces were the military’s counterinsurgency experts. Their specialty was going behind enemy lines...