Faced with numerous challenges resultant from intelligence inertia, information overload, agenda-driven intelligence, and so forth, African military intelligence organisations must revisit the art of HUMINT (Human Intelligence). It remains a vital prerequisite to know and understand a challenger, an enemy, or a threat. Without intelligence, adjustments and corrections to strategies and operational designs cannot be made. Without it, the armed forces will be unable to discover the strategic or operational intent of the hostile forces.

African military intelligence organisations currently face a deficit when it comes to the approaches to and collection of intelligence-information by human sources. These organisations must reassess how they are posited and become more forward-looking, pre-emptive, and action orientated and with a deeper operational reach. For defensive, offensive and containment reasons, the role of humans as collectors of intelligence-information must be more aggressively pursued.

Covering topics such as understanding the role of military intelligence, HUMINT operations in Africa, intelligence tradecraft, and combat intelligence in support of Composite Warfare operations, this book is both a valuable contribution and guide to African military intelligence organisations and their trainers. It ought to be on every intelligence officer’s bookshelf.

Following the bestselling first edition of this groundbreaking book, the face of conflict and war has undergone numerous changes. New and even more destructive technologies, the role of partisans, the logistical sustainability of forces, the increased weaponization of the media and diplomacy have all become commonplace.p>The second edition is complemented by two forewords written by notable generals who once oversaw the author during operations. In the words of Brig Gen Alaxander, ‘Mobility of mind and manoeuvre and a grasp of the importance of the seven Pillars of State, as elucidated in Composite Warfare, are more essential to such thinking today than were the contents of Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom to revolutionary war theorists during the 20th century.’

This edition comprises numerous expanded chapters along with several new appendices, some which have never been available in the public domain. Drawing on the evolving nature of conflict and war in Africa, the author has produced another unprecedented work that will retain validity for decades to come. Although written exclusively for African ground forces and their staffs, this edition will find universal appeal, and ought to be studied at all military institutions, war colleges and universities. It ought also to be compulsory reading for academics, politicians, policymakers, scholars of military history and journalists if they wish to gain a meaningful understanding of Africa’s conflicts and wars.

Featuring a 32-page colour section with illustrations and maps, this second edition is a monumental work that should be on every soldier’s bookshelf.

Executive Outcomes was already well known to several governments and private corporations before it exploded into controversy in 1993 after entering into a contract with Angola’s FAA to train a brigade-level force to decisively end their decades-old conflict with UNITA. It was also well known to those involved in fermenting conflicts in order to topple African governments with a view to controlling resources for personal gain. The role Executive Outcomes played in bringing an end to the conflicts in Angola and Sierra Leone threatened numerous duplicitous foreign entities. To protect their economic and other interests, a media frenzy was generated to discredit the company, and false media and intelligence reporting became the norm upon which Executive Outcomes was judged. Despite attempts to bribe the company’s founder and massive pressure from several international governments—including the South African government—Executive Outcomes continued to provide assistance and support to African and other governments under siege. In honoring its contracts, several of its employees made the ultimate sacrifice. Executive Outcomes is still regarded as the gold standard by which similar companies are judged, and it is the only private military company that never failed in a contract or abandoned a client government. During the years that it was active, the men of Executive Outcomes saved many thousands of lives. In this revised edition, the author presents a no-holds-barred account of the company’s activities and the numerous threats it had to deal with, including attempts to assassinate its founder and chairman.