Game Changers: Going Local to Defeat Violent Extremists

by Scott Mann, Steven Pressfield (Foreword), R. Keene (Illustrator)

SPECIAL OPERATION AND LAW ENFORCEMENT EDITION The storm gathers as we sleep. Despite vast amounts of blood and treasure expended since 9-11-2001, America and her allies are losing the war against Islamist violent extremists. For the first time since the War on Terror began, Green Beret Scott Mann, an original architect and implementer of this strategic program, reveals an immediately useful strategic framework to defeat ISIS, al Qa'ida, and even criminal elements here at home. This isn’t theory, this program started by Green Berets in the central highlands of Vietnam and mastered in the dusty villages of Afghanistan, holds the key to defeating Islamist violent extremists.

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Andy Kostrub · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't give this book an impartial review because I am an evangelist for its message. Scott Mann describes the Village Stability Operations program in Afghanistan, which embedded U.S. military advisors in Afghan villages to build security and stability at the local level. The program showed great promise during its brief period of implementation, coming to a close as U.S. forces began to withdraw in earnest in 2013. This bottom-up approach was more attuned to Pashtun tribal governance traditions in the South and East of the country than the top-down approach of the coalition-backed government in Kabul. Mann applies this framework to other "rough places," foreign and domestic, where centralized approaches have failed to reduce violence. Recommend to anyone interested in conflict prevention, fragile states, or community resiliency.

[Bnjmn Mich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently defended position on unconventional FID strategy for the current GWOT. Highly recommend for any service member, politician, or even law enforcement officer.

[Chase Metcalf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author makes a clear eyed argument for adapting a strategy based on foreign internal defense to defeat extremism. Based on personal experience as a Special Forces officer the author makes an argument for a traditional SF approach to defeating extremists. Core components of this strategy include focusing locally vice at the governmental level, extreme collaboration to bring the right expertise to bear and to connect key actors, deep understanding of local conditions and possibilities, and developing a compelling alternative narrative.

This book is a fairly easy read and comes with a clear recommendation for how the US should adapt its strategy to defeat violent extremists. However, it does not address the broader geopolitical context this strategy would exist in or how it might impact on other military and geopolitical requirements. I also believe that much of what the author argues for is occurring but as he highlights not sufficiently integrated or properly focused.

Overall a good read for practitioners looking for alternatives to our current approach to countering VEOs.

[Dan Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent analysis grounded in compelling narratives. It can get repetitious.