This study argues that interagency teams were a major catalyst in turning around the Iraq War, and that they will disappear from America's arsenal unless the knowledge base supporting the innovation can be secured. Most explanations credit the dramatic reduction in violence in Iraq between 2007 and 2008 to new U.S. leadership, the surge in U.S. forces, and/or U.S. financial support to Sunni tribal leaders. In contrast, the authors argue that the United States employed an underappreciated organizational innovation -- interagency teams -- to put insurgent clandestine organizations on the defensive and give population security measures a chance to take effect.

"March 2011." "Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University"--Cover.

Executive summary -- Introduction -- Interagency coordination and cross-functional teams -- Experimentation with cross-functional teams in Afghanistan -- Top-down emphasis on interagency teams in Iraq -- Bottom-up experimentation with interagency teams in Iraq -- Key variables in interagency high-value target team performance -- Interagency high-value target teams during and after the surge -- Decline and atrophy -- Observations -- Conclusion.