WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Army released its first field manual on "stability operations" Monday, drawing on lessons learned from the military's failure to prepare for aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq.
The manual, which follows a manual on counter-insurgency warfare released in 2006, was prepared in response to a directive in 2005 elevating stability operations to a core mission for the army in an "era of persistent conflict."
It identifies tasks and sets forth guidelines for military officers charged with restoring security and governance and providing humanitarian relief before, during or after major military operations.
Lieutenant General William Caldwell, commander of the army center that produced the manual, suggested in a foreward that the military wanted to avoid "the burden of nation-building under fire."
"Instead we will work through and with the community of nations to defeat insurgency, assist fragile states, and provide vital humanitarian aid to the suffering," Caldwell wrote the forward.
"Achieving victory will assume new dimensions as we strengthen our ability to generate 'soft' power to promote participation in government, spur economic development, and address the root causes of conflict among the disenfranchised populations of the world," he wrote.
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