Conducting the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) and projecting United States (US) influence worldwide has meant an increasing number of US diplomats and military forces are assigned to locations around the world, some of which have not previously had a significant US presence. In the current security environment, understanding foreign cultures and societies has become a national priority. Cultural understanding is necessary both to defeat adversaries and to work successfully with allies. As indicated by recent experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, understanding Islamic cultures is particularly important. This document defines a way US military leaders can prepare for and conduct military operations through the lens of cultural awareness. It provides a method for helping military commanders, staffs, and trainers engage successfully in any type of operation with an emphasis on postconflict stability operations. It also suggests modifications to the traditional intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) and the military decisionmaking process (MDMP) to address the analytical difficulties posed by the conduct of military operations within and among different cultures. The conditions in the Middle East today may be the most difficult in a very long time, and the Army is making tremendous efforts to become more effective. Among the key points the author makes in this study is the need for leaders to understand how culture affects military operations. LTC Wunderle briefly touches on some of the historical roots of Iraqi and Middle Eastern culture, but he focuses primarily on cultural conditions in Iraq today. He also presents ideas for modifying a number of the US Army's military decisionmaking processes and training programs.

Shipping list no.: 2007-0246-P. Full text also available via Internet from the Combined Arms Research Library web site.

Why Culture Matters --2 -- Cultural Awareness in Current Military Training and Doctrine -- 3 -- Purpose and Organization -- 5 -- 2 A Conceptual Model for Understanding Culture -- 9 -- Culture and Cultural Awareness Defined -- 9 -- A Conceptual Model for Developing Cultural Awareness -- 11 -- Using the Cultural Awareness Model to Understand Cultures -- 18 -- 3 A Primer for Understanding Arabic Culture -- 23 -- Cultural Influences -- 24 -- History and Foreign Heritage -- 25 -- Islam and the Role of Religion -- 27 -- Tribal System -- 31 -- Arabic Language -- 35 -- Cultural Variations -- 36 -- Cultural Manifestations -- 41 -- Case Study: Iraq -- 44 -- 4 Incorporating Cultural Awareness into US Military Training and Doctrine -- 57 -- Need for Cultural Awareness in Training and Doctrine -- 57 -- Integrating Cultural Awareness into Military Training -- 61 -- Integrating Cultural Awareness into Military Doctrine -- 65 -- Way Ahead -- 88 -- Appendix A Cultural Factors in US Joint and Army Doctrine -- 103 -- B 27 Articles of T.E. Lawrence -- 115 -- C Preparing for Negotiations in the Middle East -- 121 -- D Implications of Cultural Factors for US Operations in Somalia -- 133 -- 1 Cultural awareness pyramid -- 11 -- 2 Taxonomy of culture -- 12 -- 3 Levels of context sensitivity inherent to various cultures -- 15 -- 4 Taxonomy of Middle Eastern culture -- 24 -- 5 Arab World -- 26 -- 6 Arabic tribal system -- 32 -- 7 Arabic tribal structure compared to civil structure -- 34 -- 8 How values can provide a cultural lens for understanding -- 38 -- 9 Cultural awareness and expectation management -- 58 -- 10 Changes in training and doctrine required to achieve cultural competence -- 60 -- 11 Training considerations and the pyramid of cultural awareness -- 62 -- 12 Evaluating intelligence support to IO during OIF -- 68.