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| Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods | 
 enlarge | Author: H. John Poole
Creators: Ray L. Smith, Mike Leahy
Publisher: Posterity Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $6.96 (47%)
New (27) Used (14) from $7.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 31580
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 0963869574
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.42
EAN: 9780963869579
ASIN: 0963869574
Publication Date: November 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
A must read for those who leave the wire November 21, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
During seven months in Falluja in 2005 I spent approximately 150 days in the city. The history alone in this book showed us just how much we may have been underestimating our enemies, and that if they followed their classical influences they could have done much more damage.
The history is priceless dating back to influences of the Samarai and how it came to bring the original Middle Eastern assassins, and how today's suicide bombers are like those in the past, only they have explosives instead of knives, and do not need as much skill.
John Poole had spent close to 30 years in the Marine Corps leading men as both a gunnery sergeant (when enlisted) and a Lt Colonel (when commissioned). He saw Vietnam first hand, and left feeling that he could have done more for the men he'd led. Although the officers that are in charge of teaching battle field skills are not fast to accept his methods the men on the ground who deal with the enemies in the streets of Iraqi cities know he is right.
Timely and practical November 10, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
As a retired military officer, I think highly of Poole's books, including this one - he provides practical information that could save lives if they were required reading for our troops being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.
 All warfighters should read this September 15, 2006
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book should be read by a variety of folks that desire to understand even a little bit more about what is happening and happening to US in the middle east. It is not a book that spends countless pages complaining about the state of union. This book will enable the tip of the spear as we are so fond of referring to our fighting forces, concise and credible information with regard to the mindset of their opposing forces. I have been told over and over, that you cannot defeat an opponent unless you understand how he/she thinks. It does shed some light on how the military-industrial complex is steering the people of many countries wrong by proposing extensive, expensive weapon systems that separate the men from the battle and advertise a zero loss of life war for our side. (Both sides should just throw rocks, it'll be simpler) And above all it mentions the one issue that is generating higher and higher turnover rates, ARMCHAIR war fighters, and the military personnel system, that rewards compliance and not innovation, that condones individualist and fails to properly reward teamwork. Battles should be fought from front to back and not the reverse as we are doing. I recommend this book to all, and not just to those in uniform.
Good read August 22, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
The book was very informative though appeared padded by newspaper accounts of terrorist activities which made the book longer than it really needed to be. Excellent historical background which linked the past with the present, providing a how and why of our present circumstances.
Peering Into the Shadows July 27, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
H. John Poole takes up the banner he flies in his earlier work The Tiger's Way. He addresses the challenges of what he calls Eastern-style light infantry fighting a Western-style force with the added wrinkle of Middle Eastern guerilla/insurgency. Poole's work in Crescent Moon is needed. Westerners look down our collective noses at Middle Eastern military capability. Poole attempts to shake us out of our arrogant torpor by analyzing just how the Afghans defeated the Soviets, how the Chechens are defeating the Russians, and how the Iraqi insurgency is making progress in Iraq. Unfortunately, Poole does not offer many specific solutions. However, I can overlook this shortcoming because I believe Poole's real focus is on convincing his readers that there is a problem. No solution will be palatable to Westerners until Westerners believe a solution might be needed.
Poole's model of Eastern light infantry emphasizes low-level decision making, flexibility, and an emphasis on deception, camouflage, surprise, ambush, and misdirection. Eastern light infantry fight their Western opponents by hiding from Western firepower in the earth. Eastern light infantry fights at night using infiltration along thoroughly-reconnoitered routes. Whereas the Western commander uses map reconnaissance, preparatory bombardment, and positive control from the top, the Eastern commander sends his people to scan every inch of the target area, then solicits their input into the plan before having his infantry launch their assault from hand grenade range.
Placed in a Middle Eastern guerilla context, Eastern light infantry becomes a highly decentralized force that concentrates where and when it wishes. When circumstances aren't favorable, the Middle Eastern fighter melts away. The Middle Eastern fighter uses the ground for protection and concealment, much like his Far Eastern counterpart. The Middle Eastern fighter uses the civilian population for concealment, and he draws support from the civilians. Suicide bombers are a Middle Eastern twist that has a lengthy history.
According to Poole, defeating Middle Eastern insurgents will mean taking them and their methodologies seriously. As long as Westerners dismiss their Middle Eastern foes as unwashed Muslim fanatics, Westerners will fail to see how and why Afghans drove out the Soviet Union, Chechens have fought Russia into a bloody stalemate, and Iraqi insurgents continue to plague US forces in Iraq. Understanding the enemy is the first step towards defeating him. Poole offers us Tactics of the Crescent Moon so that we might understand who the shadowy foes of the West are.
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