Quote Originally Posted by Presley Cannady View Post
I'm very curious about this myself, for both phase 3 and 4 of OIF. If we list specific military and interagency operational objectives and track progress towards each, we should be able to model combinations of intelligence, kinetic, civil and relief, diplomatic tasks (and their necessary staffing levels) against factors of resistance to determine a relationship forces required to achieve to achieve strategic endgame in a given time frame (or find the point where manpower and equipment available leads to the duration diverging towards an inevitably failed mission). This is the sort of analysis I've not found in open sources before March 2003 or in any year after, although it is frustratingly hinted at in, for example, those vague, quintet assessments CIA leaks every now and then.
Though I understand your terminology specifically sought operational objectives, if COIN is truely a small unit and organization endeavor, I would argue that tactical operations are so variable that a mathematical relationship would be impossible.