Religious/Cultural Issues in Warfare: What Military Leaders Need to Know

Abstract

Abstract : Military leaders need to know the potential impact that religious/ cultural practices within a theater of war may have on the accomplishment of the mission. Religious/cultural issues or information are often important in planning for the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war and for the direction and tasks a commander assigns to his subordinates. While not all information is applicable to every scenario, this kind of information helps the commander to understand the context in which he pursues his mission objectives and, therefore, helps him to make sense of much of the facts and statistics available. It is extremely important that U.S. policy makers and military leaders become knowledgeable about the religious/cultural issues that will likely play an important role in any lasting political or military resolution to conflicts. Understanding the religious/cultural heritage out of which a nation's values arise, becoming knowledgeable of and sensitive to religious/cultural practices and prohibitions, and conducting up-front planning that accounts for the impact of religious/cultural issues on all levels of war will serve U.S. political and military leaders will in their tasks of foreign policy and preparation for future wars, should diplomacy fail.