USMC Counterinsurgency Reading List

The below recommended Marine Corps reading list is from Marine Corps University for Marines deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan

Primary Iraq and Afghanistan reading list for Majors/LtCols

Iraq History

The Modern History of Iraq by Phebe Marr

A History of Iraq by Charles Tripp

Afghanistan History

Afghanistan: A New History by Sir Martin Evans

Afghanistan A Country Study by Peter Blood

Terrorism

A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America by Malise Ruthven

Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment by Kenneth Katzman
http://fpc.state.gov/c4763.htm

Counterinsurgency

Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice

Small Wars Manual 1940 edition

Stability Operations

Reconstructing Iraq: Insights, Challenges, and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario)
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=182

Small Wars Manual 1940 edition

Maoist Insurgency Since Vietnam by Thomas Marks

Interagency Operations

"Joint Interagency Cooperation: The First Step", Joint Forces Quarterly, no. 37 (Spring 2005)

A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin

Culture 

Islam: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis 

Primary Iraq and Afghanistan reading list for Company Grade Officers, SNCO's and Enlisted Marines

Iraq History

Iraq: An Introduction to the Country and the People, Maine Corps Institute, 2004
 

Iraq: A Country Study by Helen Metz

Afghanistan History

Afghanistan A Country Study by Peter Blood

Counterinsurgency

Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods by John Poole

Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla by Carlos Marighella 

Street Without Joy by Bernard Fall

Guerrilla Warfare by Che’ Guevara

FM 31-15. Field Manual: Operations Against Irregular Forces.

Small Wars Manual 1940 edition

Culture

Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times by Margaret Nydell