Quote Originally Posted by tequila View Post
I agree with you, but with FM 3-24 isn't that now government doctrine as well? Isn't that what all the rhetoric about "political, not military solutions" and all the pressure for reform of de-Baathification and a more equitable oil law in Iraq are all about?

There's a subtle but, I think, important difference: what 3-24 codifies is the idea of undertaking political reforms to undercut the mobilizing narrative of the insurgents and wean supporters away from them. In other words, political reform is a technique for "victory," not an element of compromise. The doctrine does not open the possibility of recognizing the insurgents as legitimate leaders of a segment of the population and treating them as such.