Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 110

BOOK REVIEWS
Terrorist groups face tradeoffs in choosing how
to structure their counterintelligence capabilities.
Centralized organizations have superior CI training and compartmentalization, which also makes
them vulnerable to penetrations. Decentralized
organizations are more difficult to train and develop
fewer SOPs, but are also less predictable and more
difficult to penetrate. Groups with popular support
are more likely to expose sensitive details about
their plans and members, while clandestine organizations have a greater tension between secrecy
and popularity.
Controlling territory is the factor that offers
the most important CI advantages. Terrorists who
control territory tend to have superior communications and physical security, and better CI vetting.
However, controlling territory also makes them
more vulnerable. Groups that do not control territory and face powerful adversaries would benefit
from a loose organization—that way, limited penetrations would not lead to a catastrophic collapse
of the group.
Mobley presents case studies of major terrorist
groups, including Al-Qaeda, to illustrate his points.
A further analysis showed the groups’ failure to
control territory was the most challenging security
problem for all.
If repetition is a successful way to promote learning, this book succeeds; the author describes the
factors and their significance, illustrates the factors
in the case studies, and then repeats each one a third
time in a summary. The book is recommended for
those interested in understanding how to penetrate
or undermine terrorist groups. The case studies are
recommended reading where more in-depth academic research and background is desired.
Lt. Col. Chris North, USA, Retired,
Advisor, Afghanistan

ROOSEVELT’S CENTURIONS
FDR and the Commanders He Led
to Victory in World War II
Joseph E. Persico, Random House
New York, 2012, 672 pages, $ 35.00

F

RANKLIN ROOSEVELT, HIS admirals, and his
generals is a subject thoroughly written about and
to write something new is difficult. The best anyone
can do is to give the subject a new viewpoint. Joseph
Persico accomplishes this goal. However, I question
Persicos’ historical facts.
The author argues that Roosevelt “was not a military meddler in a league with Churchill—Roosevelt
was largely content to have the professionals wage the
tactical war. But on the strategic level, he retained for
himself the consequential decisions.”
Persico says Churchill convinced Roosevelt that
a North African invasion against the Vichy French
instead of against the Germans in Europe was a wise
military policy and not simply a naked imperialist
objective. Eisenhower described this decision as “The
bleakest day in history.” So why did we do it?
Persico writes favorably about Army Chief of Staff
George C. Marshall and most negatively about Fleet
Admiral Ernest J. King. Those with no knowledge of
King’s contributions during the war would believe
King a dreadful human being and someone who did
not have the qualifications to be commander in chief of
the U.S. Fleet and simultaneously chief of Naval Operations. Many writers have criticized King as a personalit ??)???????????????????-??????????????????????????)A????????????????9???????????????????????-????e?)?????=??????I??????????????????????????)A??????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????Q???9?????????????
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