I'm far from being an "expert" in this, but if you look at the current "phases" of a military operation, and overlap them with the D-I-M-E construct of the instruments of national power (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic), big M really only comes into play in the middle phases (Seize the initiative, Dominate, and to a lesser extent, Stabilize), not the ones at either end (Shape, Deter, Enable civil authority). All other phases need to have D-I-m-E as their driving forces, not M. Does the military conduct Shape, Deter, and Enable civil authority activities? Sure we do, but again, it should be in a little M, not big M, construct. I think FID would fall into the Shape/Deter/Enable civil authorities bucket of activities, and should be done with the minimum number of military resources required.
As for "nation-building" and "transformation", the U.S. military clearly is out of our lane in those areas. We could provide for a secure environment for those activities to initially take place, but we should NOT be conducting those activities themselves, and certainly not be providing long-term security.
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