Towards mercenary anthropology? The new US Army counterinsurgency manual FM 3–24 and the military‐anthropology complex

Abstract

On 15 December 2006 the US Army released a new coun- terinsurgency manual, FM 3-24. It is the first US Army manual dedicated exclusively to counterinsurgency in more than 20 years. At least one anthropologist played a role in preparing the 282-page document: Montgomery McFate, a cultural anthropologist from the US, co-authored a chapter entitled ‘Intelligence in counterinsurgency’ with a military intelligence specialist.1 In addition, the Pentagon adapted the work of Australian infantry officer David Kilcullen for an appendix entitled ‘A guide for action’. Though the media has widely reported that Kilcullen is an anthro- pologist, he in fact holds a PhD from the School of Politics of the University of New South Wales.2 Together, the contri- butions of McFate and Kilcullen account for nearly 50 pages of FM 3-24. Such involvement in the preparation of the counterinsurgency manual is the latest development in a trend that has become increasingly evident since 2001: the use of ‘cultural knowledge’ to wage the ‘war on terror’. The 2006 American Anthropological Association (AAA) meetings included a special panel fea- turing four anthropologists working with military and intelligence agencies – an event that in some ways heralded the revival of militarized anthropology.3 These developments raise a numbe