Robert Kaplan - Imperial Grunts

17. Nolan, Battle for Hue, pp. 29, 82, 143, 164; Hanson, Carnage and Culture, p. 395.

18. Nolan, Battle for Hue, p. 167.

19. For a description of marine snipers and their equipment see Anthony Swofford, Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles (New York: Scribner, 2003); esp. pp. 54–58, 121–22, 135–36.

20. See Olivier Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, trans. Carol Volk (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 75, 80, 82, 84, 195, 196.

21. See Hanson, Carnage and Culture.

22. See Robert M. Utley, Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian, 1866–1891 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973), pp. 51, 59.

23. Ibid., p. 271.

24. Ibid., pp. 49, 289, 291.

25. T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph (1935; reprint, Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1977), p. 360.

26. See Francis G. Hutchins, The Illusion of Permanence: British Imperialism in India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967), pp. 196–97; and Niall Ferguson, Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power (New York: Basic Books, 2003), pp. 137–38, 151–53.

27. See Lt. Gen. Conway’s own criticism of the administration, which came several months later, as reported by Rajiv Chandrasekan in “Key General Criticizes April Attack in Fallujah: Abrupt Withdrawal Called Vacillation,” Washington Post, September 13, 2004.

28. See Fred Anderson’s brilliant ruminations on imperial control in Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766 (New York: Knopf, 2000), pp. 741–42.

ACF:anti-coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

ACM:anti-coalition militia in Afghanistan.

ACOG:advanced combat optical gunsight. Provides precision sighting in any lighting.

AC-130 Spectre gunship:heavily armed U.S. Air Force aircraft converted from a C-130 cargo plane, used to protect a ground force and for mop-up operations. Turbo-propelled, it can circle for hours but is vulnerable because it is slow and flies at low altitude. Think of it as an airborne tank.

ACV:armored combat vehicle. Enclosed military vehicle with cannon that moves on caterpillar treads or four-wheel-drive wheels.

Afghan-Arab:Arab veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

AH-64 Apache:the U.S. Army’s primary attack helicopter, with a twin engine, four blades, and high technology; it can perform multiple missions in any weather, day or night.

AK-47:lightweight and compact Russian assault rifle that fires 7.62mm cartridges. One of the first assault rifles (1947), it is reliable and easy to use and maintain in the field. Also called Kalashnikov, after its designer.

Ali Babas:term coined by U.S. soldiers in Iraq to refer to looters, terrorists, and other opponents.

AMCIT:American citizen.

AMF:Afghan militia forces (tribal).

ANA:Afghan National Army.

AOB:advanced operating or operations base. In Special Operations, a small temporary base in another country used for command, control, and/or support training or tactical operations. Usually subordinate to a forward or main operations base.

AOR:area of responsibility. Geographical area for which a military unit has authority.

A- team:a U.S. Army Special Forces twelve-man team that operates in a remote, often hostile area with little or no outside supervision. Also called ODA (Operational Detachment Alpha).

A-10 Thunderbolt:a versatile U.S. Air Force ground attack aircraft, nicknamed “Warthog.” Highly survivable, it is used to provide close air support.

AVR:active vehicle restraint. Retractable barrier at entrances and exits that can withstand being crashed into. Also called a Delta barrier.

bailey bridge:bridge made of portable, interchangeable prefabricated steel panels for fast, easy assembly by military engineering units.

banca: a small wooden-hulled boat of the Pacific Ocean, especially the Philippines, usually a diesel-powered dugout canoe with bamboo outrigging.

barong tagalog:a loose, light, long-sleeved formal men’s dress shirt of the Philippines, often with an embroidered collar and facing, worn with the tails hanging out.

BDU:battle dress utility. Camouflage uniform formerly known as combat fatigues—green in the tropics, tan in the desert.

Bedford “jingle” truck:a four-wheel-drive truck built for rugged terrain, usually adorned with colorful stickers and chimes, and garishly painted.

Beretta:9mm lightweight semiautomatic pistol that has been the standard U.S. Army sidearm since 1983.

BIAP:Baghdad International Airport.

bravo:weapons.

B-team:command and control of Special Operations A-team. Also called ODB (Operational Detachment Bravo).

burka: a loose, all-enveloping garment with net holes for the eyes worn by some traditional Muslim women in public.

CAFGU:Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units; Philippine paramilitary force.

Camel Pak:backpack canteen.

CAS:close air support.

CAT:civil affairs team. Responsible for developing relationships between the U.S. military and civil authority in the country in which it serves. A CAT provides humanitarian aid—building roads, sewers, and schools, arranging for medical clinics, and so on.

CENTCOM:Central Command.

C-4:a very powerful plastic explosive that is easy to hide and difficult to detect.

CG:commanding general (U.S. Army).

CGSC:the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Charlie:engineer.

CH-47 Chinook:a U.S. Army cargo and troop transport helicopter.

CJSOTF:Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force. Task force made up of Special Operations forces of the U.S. and another country or other countries.

CJTF-HOA:Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa.

CJTF-180:Combined Joint Task Force 180. U.S.-led alliance of thirty-three countries in Afghanistan responsible for security outside Kabul.

claymore mine:anti-personnel mine set just off the ground and designed to fire metal balls (shrapnel) in a preset direction. It offers protection from ambushes, assaults, and infiltration.

COLAR:Colombian army.

commo freeks:communications frequencies.

comms:communications.

con-op:concept of operation. Written plan for a military attack.

C-130:a four-engine U.S. Air Force troop and cargo transport aircraft that can airdrop into a combat zone.

CSS:combat service support. Fire support and operational assistance to combat units.

DA:direct action—that is, combat.

delta:U.S. Army Special Forces medic.

Delta barrier:see AVR.

deshmal: a traditional Afghan kerchief.

DMZ:demilitarized zone.

DOD:Department of Defense.