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Article: Phase IV operations: where wars are really won.
- Article from:
- Military Review
- Article date:
- May 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 U.S. Army CGSC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Portions of this article have been adapted from a monograph written for the Strategic Studies Institute by Conrad C. Crane and W. Andrew Terrill in 2003. (1)
Events in Iraq since March 2003 highlight the importance and complexity of operations during Phase IV of a campaign--activities conducted after decisive combat operations to stabilize and reconstruct the area of operations (AO). Phase IV is often described as postconflict operations, but that is a misleading term. Phase IV usually begins soon after the advent of combat during Phase III, and the two overlap. In addition, as in Iraq, significant fighting can still occur during Phase IV. A better descriptive ...