Handbook: Religious Affairs in Joint Operations

DoD, HUMINT, Military
Full Text Online

This handbook is nothing more than a Chaplain's Rice Bowl.  It has nothing to do with what we were hoping for, Religious Engagement.  For that, see the two references below by Capt Doug Johnston, USN (Ret), still the Top Gun on the topic.  JCS needs to completely rewrite this publication, triple it in breadth and depth, and get a grip on religious engagement tactics, techniques, and procedures before, during, and after operational engagement.

Review: Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft

Review: Faith-Based Diplomacy–Trumping Realpolitik

And:

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Handbook: Peace Operations for the JTF Commander

Communities of Practice, DoD, Military, Peace Intelligence, Stabilization, UN/NGO
Full Text Online (212 Pages)

Long over-due for re-issuance, this time with a great deal more participation from all Eight Tribes, and a really warm welcome for the US Institute of Peace (USIP) which hit its stride with Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction (Paperback).  No one answers the phone when we call to ask about an update.

Review: Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction (Paperback)

6 Star Top 10%, Military, Stabilization, Stabilization & Reconstruction, UN/NGO
Amazon Page
Amazon Page
5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly Brilliant Synthesis, Vital First Step–US Violates Every Single Principle
December 18, 2009
United States Institute of Peace
This book is a six-star special and will be so rated at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where I cluster like non-fictions books in 98 categories, one of which is Stabilization & Reconstruction.

At its most fundamental this is without question the most extraordinary sensible and useful synthesis of all possible documents devoted to the subject, offering up a truly remarkable–just an amazing–framework for study and for planning.

The publisher failed to make full use of the Amazon tools for showing the Table of Contents at a minimum, and this error should be corrected immediately. Inside the Book is also recommended. I would normally reduce the book to four stars for its failure include all those outside the “traditional” national security community; for its lack of an index, and for its ignorance of most relevant books outside the narrow circle of stabilization & reconstruction groupies. However, this is such an incredibly gifted, intelligent, and meticulous presentation of vitally important information that I leave it at six star special, beyond five stars.

Still, to not be able to see in an index every page for key words like “water” or “intelligence” is infuriating.

graphic usip posterFirst, an overview of the contents, vastly more simple than the complex array of information presented in sub-sets of conditions, guidance, approach, and then elements.

+ Introduction
+ Strategic Framework for Stabilization and Reconstruction
+ Cross-Cutting Principles
+ High-Level Trade-Offs, Gaps, and Challenges
+ Fundamentals of a Comprehensive Approach
+ End States
—Safe and Secure Environment
—Rule of Law
—Stable Governance
—Sustainable Economy
—Social Well-Being
+ Appendices
A. Resources List
B. Participants in Review Process
C. Summary of Strategic Frameworks Surveyed
D. Snapshot of COmpoments from Overarching Resources
E. Acronyms and Glossary of Selected Key Terms (incomplete, another annoyance that needs to be corrected)

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Handbook: Guide to Rebuilding Public Sector Services in Stability Operations–A Role for the Military

Law Enforcement, Military, Stabilization, Threats/Topical
Free Download
Free Download

Phi Beta Iota: The US Intelligence Community (both civilian and military) still has not accepted the fact that 60% of its effort should be focused on Global Coverage (e.g. the Third World and the non-military high-level threats to humanity) and on relevant information and tailored intelligence necessary to support Stabilization & Reconstruction Operations as well as what General Al Gray, USMC (Ret), then Commandant of the Marine Corps, called “peaceful preventive measures.”    See also:

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