The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Algeria 1955-1957 Summary and Reviews

The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Algeria 1955-1957
by General Paul Aussaresses

The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Algeria 1955-1957
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Book Summary Information

Author: General Paul Aussaresses
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-08
ISBN: 192963112X
Number of pages: 206
Publisher: Enigma Books

Book Reviews of The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Algeria 1955-1957

Book Review: Unrepentant & self-serving
Summary: 2 Stars

This book apparently caused a scandal in France upon its publication in 2002, although the 'revelation' that the French Army practiced systematic torture during the 1954-62 Algerian war of independence is hardly news, not least to anyone who's seen 'The Battle of Algiers' (made in 1966). The novelty lies mainly in the fact that Aussaresses was a former general, who felt safe enough in retirement to spill the beans. Apart from the bald admission that torture and summary executions happened, there is little else to distinguish this sketchy, self-serving (and badly translated) account; Aussaresses never acknowledges that the Algerians had a right to self-determination, regrets 'rien' and displays no insight into how counter-productive the repressive French tactics were (they cost them the war), and this is all the more shocking in a former secret agent who had himself engaged in 'terrorism' against the occupying Germans in WWII. Abu Ghraib shows that these lessons still haven't been learned.

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