Spring Break
Student of war
Professor's expertise in military affairs is in high demand
By: Christopher B. Buckley
Issue date: 6/24/08 Section: News
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He is regarded as an expert on the counterinsurgency of the Philippine War and has written two books pertaining to the war. He is also an expert on Pacific defense prior to World War II and on military thought.
In 2000, Linn's first book, "The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902," was published. His second book, "The Philippine War, 1899-1902," followed in 2002.
"When I wrote the book I had no idea it would be relevant," Linn said. "When the current wars started, experts began looking around for a case study of when the U.S. went in, destroyed an army and the real fighting began - and the Philippines became the primary example because experts saw the parallels."
The Chiefs of Staff for the Army and the Air Force have reading lists they recommend for their officers to read, and Linn's first book made both of their lists. Linn said that prior to the modern wars, his book was not on either list.
"No," Linn said when asked if he was a leading U.S. expert in counterinsurgency. "I think I'm a leading authority on a particular counterinsurgency campaign and I draw parallels to see what the repercussions will be. It teaches people how to work in gray areas."
Published in November 2007, Linn's recent book explores another area of his expertise.
"The Echo of Battle: The Army's Way of War" explores how the Army views war and researches what influences military thinking.
"It's interesting how the US cavalry came out of World War I convinced that the next world war would have a lot of horse cavalry," he said. "Patton had a love for the cavalry, but in the end he was an expert on tank warfare."
"Most people have a romantic view of Patton, however, he was actually a very well read military genius. He knew the history and knew how his opponents would react."
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