Via e-mail, Inside the Pentagon report of a new Interagency COIN manual in the works:

The State Department is leading an effort to issue a draft version of a counterinsurgency guide in the next four to six weeks to help Washington-based government agencies and departments defeat future subversive movements. A final doctrine is expected next year.

The effort follows last year's Army and Marine Corps manual on the same subject.

The new guide -- "Counterinsurgency for U.S. Government Policymakers: A Work in Progress" -- is an educational, strategic-level primer for senior policymakers, according to a State Department official in the bureau of political-military affairs.

He spoke with Inside the Pentagon this week on condition of anonymity.

The guide is different from the military manual, which is used at the operational-tactical level, the official said.

"It's inspired by that but we found that we needed to do some counterinsurgency 101 across the entire government including within State," the official said. He added the draft guide speaks to the importance of coordinated interagency assistance to the affected governments, "to help them provide security and effective governance," and spells out what planning and assessment tools are available.

The United States and its allies are fighting two counterinsurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, prompting the establishment of new doctrines based on lessons gained from these battles…

Encouraging news on a much needed addition to our COIN doctrine database. That said, there is still much work to be done before we have a workable Interagency process in place.