Cultural Intelligence, Meeting Today's Challenges

摘要

Historically, the majority of U.S. conflicts have been Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW). Many of which have been successful, too often though, the United States has fallen short of its objects and failed at conflict termination in MOOTW. Why does a nation capable of conducting and successfully terminating an unlimited war such as, World War II, have such inconsistent results with MOOTW that are limited in nature. Warfare has changed significantly in our lifetime, as has the role that the military plays on the global stage. Challenges have become more complex, conflicts are more internal to national borders, and tactics more asymmetric. During the Cold War, America focused its military efforts on the Soviet Union, a known enemy, who after 40 years of confrontation became somewhat a matter of routine. This limited our intelligence interests toward other small states and non-state actors. The result was a stunted development of doctrine and training that did not prepare America for the untraditional challenges of today. Today's conflicts will not be won through attrition (the destruction of forces and resources on both sides), but through a combination of technology, power projection and intelligence. The military does not want to make enemies, but when it does, they must be dealt with quickly and decisively, while maintaining a posture that supports war termination and post conflict operations. To meet today's challenges and to prepare for both unlimited war and MOOTW, cultural intelligence must be integrated into the Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace (JIPB) phase of the Commander's Estimate of the Situation (CES).