Comments on: Book review: Mark Moyar’s A Question of Command

By: David Mitchell

David Mitchell — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:46:14 +0000

I found Moyar’s book to be very well researched and informative. However, I couldn’t help but get annoyed at his constant claim that “leadership” is more important than all other aspects of counterinsurgency. Yes, leadership is extremely important, but it is not the sole factor. Moyar also tends to dismiss the “hearts and minds” school of thought in favor of “good leadership,” yet when he attempts to define “good leadership” he reverts to many of the aspects listed in the Army Counterinsurgency Field Manual (which he also dismisses several times). I don’t find these two aspects mutually exclusive; however, I am under the impression that Moyar believes they are.

By: David Ucko

David Ucko — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:13:10 +0000

Hi Jeff. In all fairness, Moyar does discuss domestic political leadership, perhaps mostly in his chapters on El Salvador (Duarte vs. Cristiani), Vietnam (Diem) and the Philippines, but also when discussing Afghanistan. It is an important aspect of the debate that is often missed, but not so much in Moyar’s book.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:47:51 +0000

Moyar seems to miss the obvious point that the most important leadership is not that of the foreign counterinsurgent but rather that of the domestic political class.