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.
Humanitarian News and Technology Reviews
