Counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN) refers to a set of activities aimed at supporting a legitimate government's efforts to eliminate - or reduce the impact of - an armed insurgency. COIN activities aim to influence the real and very practical calculations on the part of the people about which side to support. COIN activities may also contribute to the stabilisation process. See also section on stabilisation.
Documents
Twenty-eight Articles, the fundamentals of company-level counterinsurgency
| Date added: | 18/02/2011 |
Publication Date:March 2006
Author:David Kilcullen
Institution: Military Review
Keywords:Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://smallwarsjournal.com/documents/28articles.pdf
Relevance
Kilcullen’s ‘28 Articles’ started as an e-mail that was widely distributed around the US Army and beyond and eventually published in the ‘Military Review’. They now form an annex in the US Army Field Manual 3-24. Although designed for Iraq, they still have relevance in Afghanistan and common themes can be seen in guidance offered by COMISAF in 2010. They are aimed at junior officers and senior non-commissioned officers (Company level), but offer a concise guide to how the military now think about Counterinsurgency... Read More
Rethinking Counterinsurgency
| Date added: | 18/02/2011 |
Publication Date: 2008
Author: John Mackinlay
Institution: RAND Corporation
Keywords: Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG595.5.pdf
Relevance
This article was written in 2008 and is part of a growing understanding of the global impact of regional COIN operations. The document is useful reading for anyone likely to be involved in planning in COIN theatres and addresses some of the wider implications a local operation may have on the 'jihadist movement'.
Key Issues
Insurgencies are being fought at two levels, an operational ‘local’ insurgency (Afghanistan and Iraq) and a global 'jihadist movement' (... Read More
ISAF Commander's Initial Assessment
| Date added: | 18/02/2011 |
Publication Date: 2009
Author:General McChrytsal
Institution:ISAF
Keywords:Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/Assessment_Redacted_092109.pdf
Relevance
This assessment was commissioned by President Obama in 2009, after he had conducted his own review of the Afghanistan mission. It marks a turning point in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, with the operation now fully on a Counterinsurgency (COIN) footing. It also provides the justification for the civilian and military 'surge' in Afghanistan, and represents the first real attempt to unify the US, ISAF and civilian missions.
Freeing the Army from the Counterinsurgency Straitjacket
| Date added: | 24/03/2011 |
Author: Gian Gentile
Institution: NationalDefence UniversityPress
Publication Date: 2010
Keywords: Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/images/jfq-58/JFQ58_121-122_Gentile.pdf
Relevance
The US Army Field Manual 3-24 ‘Counterinsurgency’ has been accepted across NATO as the benchmark doctrine. The NATO, British and many other doctrinal field manuals have been heavily influenced by the US thinking. In this article Colonel Gian Gentile, a US Army Officer and a professor at West Point officer academy, critiques Field Manual ‘Counterinsurgency’ suggesting it is fast moving from doctrine to dogma, which no one is prepared to challenge.
Counterinsurgency, Field Manual 3-24
| Date added: | 24/03/2011 |
Institution: US Army
Publication Date: 2006
Keywords: Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/coin/repository/FM_3-24.pdf
Relevance
The US Army had largely neglected Counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine since the end of the Vietnam War. During the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns it became clear that there was a need to reverse this trend. This Field Manual attempts to merge traditional COIN doctrine with the lessons learned in the new technological, globalised world of contemporary operations and puts civil-military integration central to the planning and conduct of operations.
Key Issues
This Field Manual marked a step change in the US Army’s approach to opera... Read More
Counterinsurgency Redux
| Date added: | 18/02/2011 |
PUBLICATION DATE: 2006
AUTHOR: David Kilcullen
INSTITUTION: Small Wars Journal
KEY WORDS: COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://smallwarsjournal.com/documents/kilcullen1.pdf
Relevance
This article was written in 2006 and forms the basis of the argument that David Kilcullen uses in his 'Accidental Guerilla' (2009) and other books and articles. The article sets the scene for modern Counterinsurgencies (COIN), particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a good start point for understanding current approaches to COIN.
Key Issues
An understanding of ‘classic’ insurgency (1944-1982) is necessary, but not wholely sufficient for dealing with a modern insurgency. Moder... Read More
Countering Insurgency, Army Field Manual Volume 1, Part 10
| Date added: | 21/02/2011 |
Author: Land Warfare Centre
Institution: British Army
Publication Date: Jan 2010
Keywords: Counterinsurgency, COIN
Read Full Text Here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/16_11_09_army_manual.pdf
Relevance
Countering Insurgency, Army Field Manual Volume 1, Part 10 (AFM Vol 1, Pt 10) is the latest British Army doctrine on counterinsurgency (COIN) operations and is the first review for eight years. It draws heavily on the US Army COIN Field Manual (FM 3-24) and thus marks a shift in ideas for an army that has had many years of COIN experience, from the post-colonial conflicts to Northern Ireland.
Key Issues
The British Army were,... Read More