David Spencer is Professor of Counterterrorism/Counterinsurgency at the William J Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. For the last fifteen years he has worked in a variety of positions in support of Plan Colombia, having previously been a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He served as a consultant to the Salvadoran Ministry of Defense during the 1979-1992 civil war. His previous publications include Colombia’s Road to Recovery: Security and Governance 1982-2010 (U.S. Government) and Strategy andTactics of the Salvadoran FMLN Guerrillas: Last Battle of the Cold War, Blueprint for Future Conflicts (Praeger).