In Counterinsurgency, Army Makes 'Civil Control' a Priority

I would be interested in the details on the targeting aspects of the manual... perhaps the U.S. Army has made some strides in this important aspect of counterinsurgency. Here is an excerpt from the article:

The 300-page manual, reviewed last week by The Washington Post, describes in detail what U.S. commanders at the battalion and company levels should do in counterinsurgencies such as the one in Afghanistan. The manual says establishing civil control requires plans to "secure the populations and areas that remain loyal; reclaim the populations and areas that support the insurgency; and eliminate the insurgency, politically, militarily and philosophically."

The other six tasks detailed in the manual, referred to as "lines of effort," include "support host nation forces, support governance, restore essential services, support economic and infrastructure development and conduct information engagement."

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