Colonel Wilkinson spent 31 years in the British Army with the Royal
Artillery, commando and parachute brigades and special forces. In his
last job in the army, he was the principal author of the first British
Joint Warfare Publication (JWP 3-50 Peace Support Operations). During
his military service he gradually came to the understanding that the
achievement of peace required a comprehensive approach that addressed
the causes and consequences of conflict and not just the symptoms. These
thoughts were crystallised during his four years as a senior research
fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London.
After King's College, he was deployed as the international advisor to
President Kagame in Rwanda for one year and President Karzai in
Afghanistan for two years before supporting the National Security
Advisor in Baghdad for three years. More recently, he spent fifteen
months in the occupied Palestinian territories before deploying to
Somalia for three years to support the President and Minister of
Internal Security. These positions have given Colonel Wilkinson a unique
perspective of international intervention operations. Many others have
written of their observations from the outside looking in, Colonel
Wilkinson has had the privilege of being part of the host government
looking out. Many may find his observations unsettling!
