JP 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States - Defense ...

Chapter I
(3) Traditional warfare generally assumes that the majority of people indigenous to
the operational area are not belligerents and will be subject to whatever political outcome is
imposed, arbitrated, or negotiated. A fundamental military objective is to minimize civilian
interference in military operations.
(4) The traditional warfare model also encompasses non-state actors who adopt
conventional military capabilities and methods in service of traditional warfare victory
mechanisms.
(5) The near-term results of traditional warfare are often evident, with the conflict
ending in victory for one side and defeat for the other or in stalemate.
c. Irregular Warfare. This form of warfare is characterized as a violent struggle
among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant population(s).
This form is labeled as irregular in order to highlight its non-Westphalian context. The
strategic point of IW is to gain or maintain control or influence over, and the support of, a
relevant population.
(1) IW emerged as a major and pervasive form of warfare although it is not a
historical form of warfare. In IW, a less powerful adversary seeks to disrupt or negate the
military capabilities and advantages of a more powerful military force, which usually serves
that nation’s established government. The less powerful adversaries, who can be state or
non-state actors, often favor indirect and asymmetric approaches, though they may employ
the full range of military and other capabilities in order to erode their opponent’s power,
influence, and will. Diplomatic, informational, and economic methods may also be
employed. The weaker opponent could avoid engaging the superior military forces entirely
by attacking nonmilitary targets in order to influence or control the local populace. Irregular
forces, to include partisan and resistance fighters in opposition to occupying conventional
military forces, are included in the IW formulation. Resistance and partisan forces, a form of
insurgency, conduct IW against conventional occupying powers. They use the same tactics
as described above for the weaker opponent against a superior military force to increase their
legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations.
(2) Military operations alone rarely resolve IW conflicts. For the US, which will
always wage IW from the perspective of a nation-state, whole-of-nation approaches where
the military instrument of power sets conditions for victory are essential. Adversaries
waging IW have critical vulnerabilities to be exploited within their interconnected political,
military, economic, social, information, and infrastructure systems.
(3) An enemy using irregular methods will typically endeavor to wage protracted
conflicts in an attempt to exhaust the will of their opponent and its population. Irregular
threats typically manifest as one or a combination of several forms including insurgency,
terrorism, disinformation, propaganda, and organized criminal activity based on the
objectives specified (such as drug trafficking and kidnapping). Some will possess a range of
sophisticated weapons, C2 systems, and support networks that are typically characteristic of
a traditional military force. Both sophisticated and less sophisticated irregular threats will
I-6 JP 1