“Counterinsurgency is armed social work” – In other words, the convergence of military and humanitarian operations?

by Jon Thompson on November 21, 2008

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.

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