The Counterinsurgency Library
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Counterinsurgency has become a subject of great interest in the last few years, and this website is intended to bring together the literature on this vitally important subject in a single location. This is a collaborative website, in which anyone can enter bibliographical references. A user can – and is indeed encouraged to – annotate the entries. Visitors can also search by topic to find a list of articles about specific insurgencies or issues in counterinsurgency.

Counterinsurgency is a complex subject, as it rests at the intersection of history, economics, military strategy, and even political theory. This site attempts to collect articles on all of these aspects of counterinsurgency. In this respect it is different than other reading lists on, or bibliographies of, counterinsurgency. Some reading lists focus on military issues; others look at specific historical examples.

What makes this site unique is that it is both collaborative and dedicated to both the practical and deeply philosophical issues surrounding counterinsurgency. Many of the articles included here deal with specific counterinsurgencies, ranging from Iraq to Malaysia to Vietnam; other articles address practical questions such as the role of indigenous police forces in counterinsurgency. Still others deal with the theoretical foundations of the state, a subject that, even while largely unacknowledged, underlies counterinsurgency efforts. At all times, this site is interested in a holistic view of success in counterinsurgency.

Please help us create a resource that can be of use to both scholars and soldiers, to those who are paid to think about counterinsurgency and to merely concerned citizens, and to all who hope for success in the difficult art of counterinsurgency.

Countries
  Aden (1963-67) (4 Posts)
  Afghanistan (1980-1988) (22 Posts)
  Afghanistan (2001-present) (54 Posts)
  Africa (General) (31 Posts)
  Al Qaeda (25 Posts)
  Algeria (1954-1962) (22 Posts)
  American Indian Wars (7 Posts)
  American Revolution (1775-1783) (7 Posts)
  Angola (1975-1991) (3 Posts)
  Balkans (1991-present) (14 Posts)
  Borneo (1963-1966) (0 Posts)
  Burma (1 Posts)
  Cambodia (1965-1975) (2 Posts)
  Cameroon (1955-1960) (2 Posts)
  Chad (1969-1971) (1 Posts)
  Chechnya (1994-present) (6 Posts)
  Chinese Communist Revolution (7 Posts)
  Colombia (1964-present) (11 Posts)
  Congo (Katangan Revolt) (1960-1965) (4 Posts)
  Cuba (Castro) (1952-1959) (5 Posts)
  Cyprus (1955-present) (8 Posts)
  Dhofar (Oman) (1965-1976) (4 Posts)
  East Timor (1974-1999) (10 Posts)
  El Salvador (1980-1992) (12 Posts)
  Eritrea (1961-1991) (3 Posts)
  General Histories (39 Posts)
  Greek Civil War (1944-48) (6 Posts)
  Greek War of Independence (1821-27) (1 Posts)
  Guatemala (1972-1996) (4 Posts)
  Haiti (1990-Present) (1 Posts)
  Indonesia (See also East Timor; Borneo) (7 Posts)
  Interrogation Operations (1 Posts)
  Iraq (2003 - Present) (247 Posts)
  Iraq (British Occupation) (1919-1932) (14 Posts)
  Israel & the Palestinians (1920-Present) (10 Posts)
  Jewish Revolts, 166 BC-73 AD (1 Posts)
  Kashmir (1988-Present) (4 Posts)
  Kenya and the Mau Mau Rebellion (1952-60) (7 Posts)
  Lebanon (1975-Present) (11 Posts)
  Liberia (1989-Present) (5 Posts)
  Madagascar (1896-1903) (1947-1948) (1 Posts)
  Malaysia (1948-1960) (29 Posts)
  Mali (7 Posts)
  Mali/Niger (Tuareg) (1990-Present) (7 Posts)
  Mozambique (1964-1974) (5 Posts)
  Namibia (1966-1989) (1 Posts)
  Nicaragua (1961-1990) (2 Posts)
  Nigeria (1 Posts)
  Nigeria (Biafran Revolt) (1967-1970) (1 Posts)
  Northern Ireland (1916-1921) (2 Posts)
  Northern Ireland (1968-1998) (11 Posts)
  Peru (1980-Present) (4 Posts)
  Philippines (1899-1902) (3 Posts)
  Philippines (Huk Rebellion) (1946-1954) (9 Posts)
  Portugese Guinea (1963-1974) (0 Posts)
  Rhodesia (1972-1979) (7 Posts)
  Rwanda (1 Posts)
  Sierra Leone (1991-2002) (6 Posts)
  Solomon Islands (1 Posts)
  Somalia (1991-Present) (11 Posts)
  South Africa (Apartheid) (1948-1994) (5 Posts)
  South Africa (Boer War) (1899-1902) (5 Posts)
  Spanish Guerrillas Against Napoleon (1807-1814) (3 Posts)
  Sri Lanka (Tamils) (1972-Present) (14 Posts)
  Tajikistan (1989-Present) (3 Posts)
  Tibet (Revolt Against China in 1950s) (0 Posts)
  U.S. Civil War (Guerrillas) (1 Posts)
  Ukrainian Revolt Against Soviets (1945-46) (1 Posts)
  Uncategorized (6 Posts)
  Vietnam War (1945-1975) (67 Posts)
  Yemen (1962-1970) (0 Posts)
  Yugoslavia (Tito) (2 Posts)
 
Other Categories
  4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency (154 Posts)
  Air Power & COIN (10 Posts)
  Anthropology & COIN (27 Posts)
  Arab Military Thought (3 Posts)
  Center Of Gravity Analysis (5 Posts)
  Foundations Of The State (49 Posts)
  Grand Strategy (28 Posts)
  Humanitarian Intervention (46 Posts)
  Implications For Military Reorganization (23 Posts)
  Intelligence (13 Posts)
  Islam (29 Posts)
  Just War & Counterinsurgency (8 Posts)
  Law of War (68 Posts)
  Mercenaries (12 Posts)
  Military Field Manuals (14 Posts)
  Military, Use and Training Of (63 Posts)
  Nation Building (71 Posts)
  Police, Use and Training Of (17 Posts)
  Shi'a "Revival" (5 Posts)
  Typologies of Insurgency (23 Posts)
  United Nations & Int'l Institutions (31 Posts)
  USAID (3 Posts)
  Women (5 Posts)
 
Specific Iraq Decisions
  "Surge", The (1 Posts)
  De-Baathification of the Civil Service (1 Posts)
  De-Baathification of the Military (1 Posts)
  Elections For The Transitional National Authority (8 Posts)
  Exempting Contractors From UCMJ And Local Laws (3 Posts)
  Formation of the Interim Government (4 Posts)
  Relations With Sadrists (1 Posts)
  Role of Elections (2 Posts)
  Sunni "Awakening" (2 Posts)
  Torture (Use Of) (10 Posts)
  Troop Levels for Post-War Operations (5 Posts)
  WMD (11 Posts)
 
Tactics of Counterinsurgency
  CORDS (8 Posts)
  Counterinsurgency Field Manual 3-24 (24 Posts)
  Information Operations (6 Posts)
  Ink Spot/Strategic Hamlet (4 Posts)
  Pacification (3 Posts)
  Pseudo-Operations (3 Posts)
  Sanctuaries, Role of (2 Posts)
 
Theorists of Insurgency & Counterinsurgency
  Al-Suri, Abu Mu'sab (6 Posts)
  Callwell, Charles (2 Posts)
  Creveld, Martin von (19 Posts)
  Debray, Regis (3 Posts)
  Fall, Bernard (7 Posts)
  Gallieni, Joseph (2 Posts)
  Galula, David (8 Posts)
  Guevara, Che (5 Posts)
  Kilcullen, David (37 Posts)
  Kitson, Frank (3 Posts)
  Lawrence, T.E. (6 Posts)
  Lind, William (3 Posts)
  Marighella, Carlos (2 Posts)
  Naji, Abu Bakr (2 Posts)
  Thompson, Robert (4 Posts)
  Trinquier, Roger (4 Posts)
  Tse-Tung, Mao (5 Posts)

"Annotated Bibliography on HTS, Minerva and PRISP." Culture Matters. 21 August 2008
Category/Related Topics: Anthropology & COIN

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Havall, Harald. COIN Revisited: Lessons of the Classical Literature on Counterinsurgency and Its Applicability to the Afghan Hybrid Insurgency. Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 2008
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Afghanistan (2001-present)

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DeForest, Orrin & David Chanoff. Slow Burn-The Rise And Bitter Fall Of American Intelligence In Vietnam. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990
Category/Related Topics: CORDS; Ink Spot/Strategic Hamlet; Vietnam War (1945-1975); Intelligence; Interrogation Operations

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Note. "Counterinsurgency and Constitutional Design." Harvard Law Review 122 : 1622
Category/Related Topics: Nation Building; Foundations Of The State; 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Law of War

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Ecklund, Marshall V. "Task Force Ranger vs. Urban Somali Guerrillas in Mogadishu: An Analysis of Guerrilla and Counterguerrilla Tactics and Techniques Used During Operation Gothic Serpent." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008)
Category/Related Topics: Somalia (1991-Present)

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Molan, Jim. "Thoughts of a Practitioner: A Contribution to Australia's Counterinsurgency Doctrine Drafters." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 215-234
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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Scott, Trent. "Defeating Insurgencies: Adaptive Campaigning and an Australian Way of War." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 203-214
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Military, Use and Training Of

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Kiszely, John. "Post-Modern Challenges for Modern Warriors." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 179-202
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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McMaster, H.R. "On War: Lessons To Be Learned." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008)
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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Parton, Neville. "Air Power's Illusion: Israel's 2006 Campaign in the Lebanon." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 153-166
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Lebanon (1975-Present); Israel & the Palestinians (1920-Present); Air Power & COIN

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Cadieu, Trevor. "Canadian Armour in Afghanistan." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 129-151
Category/Related Topics: Afghanistan (2001-present)

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Helmer, Daniel. "Not Quite Counterinsurgency: A Cautionary Tale for US Forces Based on Israel's Operation Change of Direction." Australian Army Jouranl V.2 (Winter 2008): 117-127
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Lebanon (1975-Present); Israel & the Palestinians (1920-Present)

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Donahue, Patrick. "Combating a Modern Insurgency: Combined Task Force Devil in Afghanistan." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 91-116
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Afghanistan (2001-present)

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Smith, Niel & Sean MacFarland. "Anbar Awakens: The Tipping Point." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 75-91
Category/Related Topics: Iraq (2003 - Present); Sunni "Awakening"

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O'Neill, Mark. "Back to the Future: The Enduring Characteristics of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 41-56
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Typologies of Insurgency

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Grey, Jeff. "Australia's Counterinsurgencies: A Brief History." Australian Army Journal V.2 (Winter 2008): 17-26
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; General Histories

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Milliard, Todd S. "Overcoming Post-Colonial Myopia: A Call To Recognize and Regulate Private Military Companies." LL.M. Thesis. U.S. Army Judge Advocate General School, 2003
Category/Related Topics: Law of War; Mercenaries

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Smith, Brent. "A Look At Terrorist Behavior: How They Prepare, Where They Strike." National Institute of Justice Journal 260 (July)
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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Grau, Reagan Jay. "Waging Brown Water Warfare: the Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Dela, 1966-1969." M.A. Thesis. Texas Tech University, 2006
Category/Related Topics: Vietnam War (1945-1975)

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Snavely, Christopher. Historical Perspectives on Developing and Maintaining Homefront Morale for the War on Terrorism. Naval Postgraduate School, 2002
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Center Of Gravity Analysis

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Jones, Seth G. & Martin C. Libicki. How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa'ida. Rand, 2008
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Typologies of Insurgency; El Salvador (1980-1992); Al Qaeda

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Berntsen, Gary & Seth G. Jones. Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism, and National Leadership: A Practical Guide. Potomac Books, 2008
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency; Intelligence

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Rid, Thomas. Understanding Counterinsurgency Warfare: Origins, Operations, Challenges. Routledge, 2008
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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Bunkers, Frank & John Sullivan & G. I. Wilson. "Anticipating the Nature of the Next Conflict." Emergency.com. ERRI. 19 February 2001
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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Staten, Clark L. "Suicide/Homicide Bombings: Review of Middle-Eastern Tactics & Techniques." ERRI. PowerPoint. April 2003
Category/Related Topics: 4th Generation Warfare and Counterinsurgency

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