I was reading through WIRED’s excellent Danger Room and came across this gem in an article about ‘counter insurgency guru’ David Kilcullen: “Counterinsurgency is armed social work“. This sounds like encroachment on the humanitarian mandate, albeit with guns, and with the recent publication of the Army Stability Operations Manual I am beginning to wonder how close these two seemingly opposite entities can get before they collide. I have seen militaries around the world move heaven and earth to save lives and have marveled at their humanitarian commitment but I also know from experience that unarmed impartiality is an essential component of our operations. I hope that any outside agency that chooses to blur that distinction understands that in doing so they may be jeopardizing some lives while trying to save others.
