Military Review English Edition September-October 2014 | Page 109

IRREGULAR WARFARE

Conclusion
National interests guide the choices of U.S. policy
makers. When contemplating the use of the military
instrument of national power to achieve policy objectives through war, either traditional or irregular, three
considerations should remain at the forefront: moral,
legal, and prudential. The questions resulting from
these deliberations should be sequenced as follows:
Are we justified?
Are we following the law?
Can we actually do what is proposed?29
Reflecting on these questions also contributes to
the moral, ethical, and intellectual development of the
members of the profession of arms.
Moving forward in accordance with defense strategic guidance, the Army will continue to play a major
role in the joint force’s robust foreign internal defense,
theater security cooperation, and theater engagement
efforts. It should find itself well-suited for this effort.
These capabilities should be augmented by maintaining the Army’s unconventional warfare competency.

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Ultimately, intervening by waging irregular
warfare alongside an insurgency within and against
another country would come with moral dilemmas
for the United States and its military forces. As the
Department of Defense builds its capacity to perform
this primary mission ag