How to build a State in a non State environment?

[TheCurmudgeon]

Bill,

First I don't mean to oversimplify. If anything the task is more complicated than any one department or agency can handle.

3. Once cleared, really cleared, and the people demonstrate support to the government (no free lunch), then I would enable development. Until they show some inclination of support it is martial law. I'm not helping those who are fighting me. Development will be focused on the people's stated needs, not what we think they need. That will be assessed by our folks living with the locals, not through key leader engagements where we too often empower the wrong people.

I take issue with (or possibly completely agree with) is you jump from clearing the territory of obvious hostiles and support for governance. This implies that there is some form of government in place. If that is the case you are beyond where I am.

Disregard everything going on in the security realm, people will still have to eat. Either we are feeding them (which provides another level of control) or they have some form of economy going on of their own. My point with economy is not to develop it - it is that,concurrent with security operations, we look, listen, and learn what the society's economy consists of. That level of economic production gives you the baseline you can use to determine what the government can actually support.

Actually, now that think about it, controlling food distribution might be a good idea in certain conditions.