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The U.S. Army's Doctrinal Renaissance

The U.S. Army's release this month of Field Manual 3-07, "Stability Operations," marks the culmination of a process that began with the counterinsurgency (COIN) manual developed for the Baghdad surge. The doctrinal shift has been the cause of a heated debate within the Army between COIN proponents and advocates of conventional warfighting capabilities. In this article, Jack Kem explains the new doctrine's purpose, the origins of the "doctrinal renaissance," what it tells us about conflicts to come, and the gaps that remain to be filled.