Army: Nation building as important as combat missions

The Army on Thursday rolled out the first revision of its operations manual since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, putting stability operations - nation-building - on par with combat.

Army officials said the revision reflects a focus on fighting terrorism.

“The field manual is our Army’s blueprint for an uncertain future,” said Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, commander of Fort Leavenworth, where the document was produced. “It does provide the blueprint for how we, as an Army, will operate over the next 10 to 15 years.”

The new manual reflects Army experiences over the past six years of fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan and insurgents in Iraq, as well as with relief efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Caldwell said the U.S. will focus on building its influence in nations plagued by conflicts so that it can make them stable and secure. AP

Now all we need is a time machine to send this back to 2000. That can’t be harder than what the US Army is facing in Iraq, so I say we go for it.