Zombie Index
Meet the Army’s zombie: counterinsurgency.
After each irregular war, the Army buries it and moves on. But counterinsurgency comes back whenever the task is to secure people, bolster legitimate governance, and work through partner forces. This is exactly the rhythm that shows up in Military Review: two lives, decades apart.
The chart below highlights counterinsurgency mentions across seven decades with Vietnam (1964–1973), Afghanistan (2001–2021), and Iraq (2003–2011) shaded. The curve forms a double hump: first cresting in the late 1960s, then returning in the mid-2000s at unprecedented levels during the Iraq surge and publication of FM 3-24. After 2014, the line decays toward silence… until a new challenge awakens counterinsurgency again.
If counterinsurgency is the Army’s zombie doctrine, the other concepts are ghosts—rising, fading, and occasionally reappearing. For a full tour of the Pentomic, AirLand Battle, and Multi-Domain graveyard, see this MWI article → “The Ghosts of Doctrine Past.”
Excellent! As Mark Twain is attributed to have said: "While history doesn't repeat itself, it often rhymes."
While we didn’t use the term “counterinsurgency,” the Army’s (and Marine Corps’) cyclical interest in the concept dates back all the way to the Civil War and had a huge surge in the Philippines. The CMH has three pretty good studies available, including the two-part “U.S. Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations Doctrine,” pt 1: 1860-1941, and pt 2: 1942-1976.