I'd like to share a few thoughts I've had. I appreciate, as always, any comments shared.


I. Class Analysis in the Absence of an Analytical Foundation
Even with the introduction of human terrain teams (HTTs) and cultural awareness in Army operations, the absence of an analytical foundation with which to examine the target country hinders battlefield success. Without a universal analytical foundation to understand the structure and effects of a particular society, identifying the center of gravity and consequently the drivers that dictate targeting becomes misleading. The current debates surrounding counterinsurgency operations, centers of gravity, and targeting all indicate the absence of a universal understanding of an analytic foundation that explains the functions of a society. Such a foundation would not only reveal the organization of a society, but also its vulnerabilities and strengths, enabling more effective targeting as well as predictive analysis in the contemporary operating environment. Class analysis examines the underlying tensions that exist in society as a consequence of conflicting interests that arise from different social positions. Alternatively, classes can be labeled as ‘factions’. By exploring the interests and relationships of a society’s various classes, the analyst can identify the causes of conflict, the prime movers in society and in the conflict, and then determine how best to develop lethal and non-lethal targeting packages.

II. Problems in the Current Army Use of Human Terrain Mapping
Several major problems underlie the Army’s analysis of the contemporary operating environment: (1) it has no base assumption on the organization and operations of a society and its classes even though it has defined ‘war’, ‘insurgency’ and ‘terrorism’ in relation to political power; (2) therefore, it does not accurately depict the structure of a society, reflected in, but not determined by, the distribution of power and resources; (3) consequently undermining both lethal and non-lethal targeting against those factions that can or do hold power.

III. The Political Decision in the Military Act
While Clausewitz defined war as an extension of policy, he further argues that the political object sought by war is suspended and replaced by the immediate desire for military victory. Military acts therefore do not have a political nature to them except for the strategy as a whole. However, in insurgency every military act is a political decision. This is because the classes within a society, rather than the state itself, are using war as an extension of their own interests.

IV. The Four Masks: Race, Religion, Ideology, and Gender
Four masks serve to disguise the underlying motives of a class, to mobilize a class for a particular behavior, or to determine the “appropriate” level of wealth, prestige, and power reserved for a class. Nothing in race, religion, ideology, or gender inherently compels a class to violence; these masks serve to clutter accurate analysis, solidify the identity of a class in order to mobilize it, or to distribute/regulate wealth, prestige, and power. One class, or an alliance of several classes, aims to maintain power over a society through one of those means. Those means will reflect the true structure of a society and reveal, through analysis, the factions that dominate a society.

V. Updating Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield
IPB therefore requires an analysis of class organization of a society in order to identify the interests of dominant factions, and how they exploit race, religion, ideology, and gender for their purposes. This will provide an accurate and uncluttered picture of a society’s structure, exposing vulnerabilities and revealing strengths.

VI. Enhancing Targeting by Building Political Stakeholders
By identifying the factions that shape the distribution of power in a society, the commander can more accurately define a target list, both lethal and non-lethal. This will minimize waste, improve the effectiveness of a unit’s actions, and enable the building of stakeholders in a society in order to form a new class, or alliance of classes, that are friendly to American interests. Any echelon can achieve this.

VII. Predictive Analysis in the Contemporary Operating Environment
Strengthening IPB through class analysis will enable a greater capacity to predicate behaviors and outcomes in the contemporary operating environment.