This is a paperbound reprint of a 2005 book. Fishel (national security policy, Center For Hemispheric Studies, National Defense U.) and Manwaring (military strategy, US Army War College) explain and elaborate on the SWORD Model for fighting "uncomfortable wars" (e.g. internal wars, limited wars, terrorist wars, insurgency wars, or low-intensity conflict), developed by the US Southern Command's Small Wars Operations Research Directorate over the past 20 years. The model says that decision makers should understand the nature of the conflict and its strategic environment, determine primary centers that must be attacked or defended, appreciate the importance of moral legitimacy in pursuing a given strategy or supporting a given government, and consider all of these as part of a strategic whole. It insists that it is essential to recognize the following dimensions of "wars within the war": the legitimacy war--to attack or defend the moral right of an incumbent regime to exist; the more traditional police-military shooting war between belligerents; wars to isolate belligerents from their internal and external support; the "war to stay the course" (the provision of consistent and long-term support to a host government); intelligence and information wars; and wars to unify multidimensional, multilateral, and multiorganizational elements into a single effort. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)