Includes index.

pt. 1. Cold War and special warfare: Interest, intervention, and containment ; Toward a doctrine of special warfare ; The legacy of World War II ; Toward a new counterinsurgency : Philippines, Laos, and Vietnam ; Waging unconventional warfare : Guatemala, the Congo, and the Cubans -- pt. 2. Camelot and counterinsurgency: The Kennedy crusade ; The apparatus in the field ; Edward Geary Lansdale and the new counterinsurgency ; The heart of doctrine ; Counterterror and counterorganization ; Tactical totalitarianism ; The problem of ideology -- pt. 3. Special warfare and low-intensity conflict: The Carter years ; Morning in AMerica and the special warfare revival ; The Special Forces' buildup ; The Middle East calls the shots ; Watching the neighbors : low-intensity conflict in Central America ; An un-American way of war -- Epilogue.