Exposes the fallacy that an increased degree of socio-cultural understanding leads to a greater chance of success in counterinsurgency operations.

Western counterinsurgency doctrine proposes that cultural intelligence is an important requirement for those forces operating amidst the unfamiliar socio-political structures often found in distant conflict zones. Yet while the determination to understand the intricate nature of alien societies may appear a rational undertaking in such circumstances, Christian Tripodi argues that these endeavours rarely help deliver success. The frictions of war and the complex human, cultural and political 'terrain' of the operating environment render such efforts highly problematic. In their attempts to generate and instrumentalize local knowledge for the purpose of exerting influence and control, western military actors are drawn into the unwelcome realm of counterinsurgency as a form of political warfare. Their operating environment now becomes a space charged with phenomena that they rarely comprehend, rarely even see and which they struggle to exert any meaningful control over. All in pursuit of a victory that might literally mean nothing.

Neighbors John and Carl had become good friends. One night John heard the reverberation of gun shots and everything changed. Soon law enforcement agents would be searching for a serial killer who was targeting vulnerable women and both men are suspects. While police are investigating these murders, both friends are pitted against each other as evidence is unearthed. Will they ever discover who the perpetrator is? Will John and Carl remain friends? Find out in an all new mystery novel that will have you on the edge of your seat.

From a small group of religious students formed in 1994, the Taliban quickly grew into a national movement that occupied all of Afghanistan. Led by the mysterious Mullah Omar, the group established a theocracy based on strict observance of Sharia law. When the Americans overthrew the Taliban in 2001, the United States thought the regime had been defeated. Yet today, nine years later, the Taliban continue to wage a bloody insurgency. In this extraordinary and compelling account of the rise, fall, and return of the Taliban, author James Fergusson, who has unique access to its shadowy leaders, presents the reality of themovement so often mischaracterized in the press. His surprising and, perhaps, uncomfortable conclusions about our current strategy in Afghanistan should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand this intractable conflict.

THE BODYGUARD For professor Ginny Anderson, translating a set of ancient tablets could be the coup of her career--or more danger than she can handle. Someone doesn't want the secrets of the artifacts to be revealed...and they'll kill to bury her discoveries. But former Secret Service agent Colin Tapping refuses to let anybody hurt Ginny and appoints himself as her protector--whether she wants one or not. Colin has made mistakes in the past, and keeping Ginny safe could be just what he needs to prove he's still a capable agent and win back his job. But is he willing to risk paying the ultimate price to reclaim his former life?

Detective Sarah Parker's life is upended by an anonymous tip that leads her to a gruesome crime scene and a cryptic message pointing to a shadowy figure known as "The Unknown Enemy." As she delves deeper, she uncovers a powerful conspiracy, faces personal attacks, and grapples with betrayal within her own ranks. With the help of a skilled hacker and an unexpected ally, Sarah races against time to thwart a catastrophic plan. Amidst intense action and personal loss, she confronts a mastermind from her past, emerging stronger and ready for future battles in this gripping thriller.

For twenty years, the Taliban was the number one enemy of Western forces in Afghanistan. But it was an enemy that they knew little about, and about whose founder and leader, Mullah Omar, they knew even less. Armed with only a fuzzy black-and-white photo of the man, investigative journalist Bette Dam decided to track down the reclusive Taliban chief a decade back. But in the course of what had seemed an almost impossible job, she got to know the Taliban inside out, realized how dangerously misinformed the global forces fighting it were, and made a startling discovery about the elusive Omar's whereabouts. The outcome of a five-year-long pursuit, Looking for the Enemy is a woman journalist's epic story that takes the reader deep into the dangerous mountains and war-ravaged valleys of Afghanistan as it throws up several unknowns about an organization that is now once again at the helm in one of the world's most fragile states.