absorbed in political and economic matters.”13 In
other words, as Allied forces advanced against Axis
forces through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, issues
of social well-being, rule of law, safe and secure environment, sustainable economy, and stable governance
within and among the communities through which
they fought – and which now constituted “rear areas”
– began to affect the execution of military missions associated with combat and logistics. He could no longer ignore these issues and had to dedicate precious
military resources to execute stability operations in
his ever-expanding area of responsibility – a contingency for which he had not prepared.
This definition also describes a major focus of combat operations during the transition from the Afghanistan Campaign’s Consolidation II phase to Consolidation III phase in late 2009. The senior intelligence
officer of the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) directed subordinate intelligence staffs to expand their information-gathering efforts to “acquire
and provide knowledge about the population, the
economy, the government, and other aspects of the
dynamic environment we are trying to shape, secure,
and successfully leave behind.”14 In a supporting effort, the Director of ISAF Joint Command’s Information
Dominance Center developed Host Nation Information Requirements (HNIR) to “enable the commander
to make informed decisions – allow him to more effectively conduct the full spectrum of military and
civilian activities that will achieve popular support
for government”15 in a population-based counterinsurgency mission. In this instance, commanders were
interested in identifying matters of civilian community
interest throughout Afghanistan that (would) affect or
(be) affected by the execution of military missions designed
to support the local populace, national security forces,
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