I throw this out for general consideration. We define war as a political act, but war can exist without politics, at least in our nearest evolutionary relatives.

Of all of the world's species, humans and chimpanzees are some of the only species to coordinate attacks on their own members. Since Jane Goodall introduced lethal inter-community killings, primatologists have debated the concept of warfare in this genus. New research from an international coalition of ape researchers has shed new light on the subject, suggesting that human encroachment and interference is not, as previous researchers have claimed, an influential predictor of chimp-on-chimp aggression.
When we look at insurgency do we place too much emphasis on the political players and not enough on the aspects of society that create the conditions for war.

Moderator - I am sure we touched on this before, but I did not find it.