Quoth Wilf:
"Unfortunately the US has backed itself into a corner, by essentially declaring they are."
It's what we do best...

That way, all the various pomposities get their 15 minutes of fame by spouting great truths.

Slap said:
"The leadership ring is so critical that the AF suggested that a seprate analysis be done of EVERY political group that may oppose or support us..."
The problem with that in any FID or COIN effort is that there are too many leadership rings to engage and that they also are almost invariably able to replicate themselves like the proverbial arm of the Starfish -- or tails on Geckos. The five rings bit has some applicability in conventional war, not so much in the messy muddle that is typical in FID and IW. That IMO is due to the fact that accurate intel is hard to gather and that, even if you do get accuracy in that, the number of nodes and the flexibility to attack them effectively will generally not exist.
"... That is why I say it is a lot like police work we operate in the middle of multiple gangs not just one.
True -- and beat cops, even most Departments are flexible enough to work with that. So are some SF units. Unfortunately, the more bureaucratic, larger and unwieldy conventional units (land, sea or air) are generally not capable of the flexibility to do that. A few with enlightened commanders are but they're pretty rare...