Culture and Effects-Based Operations in an Insurgency
Abstract
Despite its domination of conventional warfare the United States military finds itself in a quagmire concerning the unconventional fight in Iraq. Cultural factors influence the genesis, lifetime, and demise of an insurgency. To understand insurgency and the environment that breeds it, one has to understand culture. Effects-based operations (EBO) are the new methodology that the Department of Defense (DOD) has embarked upon during its transformation Can EBO currently account for the cultural factors in Iraq and leverage the synergistic power of the coordinated elements of national power to defeat an insurgency? The potential for EBO to accomplish this task exists, yet the reality of it doing so still remains in question. The main limitations for EBO are the lack of a common lexicon and interagency coordination. The DOD should take key steps to improve the capability to effectively use EBO in the national security strategy and to defeat insurgency. Developing a common lexicon usable by all the elements of national power and educating senior leadership and interagency organizations on the capability and methodology of EBO could improve the effectiveness of EBO in serving the national defense and defeating an insurgency.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 26, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA437568
Entities
People
- Michael L. Davidson
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College