Changes

=== Irregular Warfare Annex ===

=== Irregular Warfare Annex ===

At a workshop in October 2019 which included David Kilcullen, Ben Connable and Christine Wormuth at RAND, Mulroy officially rolled out the Irregular Warfare Annex (IWA), saying it was a critical component of the 2018 NDS. He said that irregular warfare (IW) includes counter-insurgency (COIN), [[counterterrorism]] (CT), unconventional warfare (UW), foreign internal defense (FID), sabotage and subversion,  stabilization (warfare) and information operations (IO), among other areas. IW has been perceived largely as limited to the CT effort used to fight violent extremist organizations. Still, he said it should be applied to all competition areas, including the ''great powers'' of China and Russia and the ''rogue states'' of North Korea and Iran. Mulroy said that the U.S. must be prepared to respond with "aggressive, dynamic, and unorthodox approaches to IW" to be competitive across these priorities.  

At a workshop in October 2019 which included David Kilcullen, Ben Connable and Christine Wormuth at RAND, Mulroy officially rolled out the Irregular Warfare Annex (IWA), saying it was a critical component of the 2018 NDS. He said that irregular warfare (IW) includes counter-insurgency (COIN), [[counterterrorism]] (CT), unconventional warfare (UW), foreign internal defense (FID), sabotage and subversion,  stabilization (warfare) and information operations (IO), among other areas. IW has been perceived largely as limited to the CT effort used to fight violent extremist organizations. Still, he said it should be applied to all competition areas, including the ''great powers'' of China and Russia and the ''rogue states'' of North Korea and Iran. Mulroy said that the U.S. must be prepared to respond with "aggressive, dynamic, and unorthodox approaches to IW" to be competitive across these priorities.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.rand.org/nsrd/news/2019/10/dasd-mulroy.html |title=NSRD Hosts Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Michael Mulroy |website=www.rand.org}}</ref>

He continued that DoD would incorporate IW into policies, strategies, plans, and processes across the joint force and not solely special operations. This would also include considering IW in force design, development, and human capital to proactively manage and determine the character, scope, and intensity of our competition in the IW environment, leading to competitive advantage and raising the cost to adversaries. He concluded that it is imperative to work by, with, and through allies and partners in these efforts to strengthen their commitment to common security objectives and increase their ability to defend their own sovereignty.  

He continued that DoD would incorporate IW into policies, strategies, plans, and processes across the joint force and not solely special operations. This would also include considering IW in force design, development, and human capital to proactively manage and determine the character, scope, and intensity of our competition in the IW environment, leading to competitive advantage and raising the cost to adversaries. He concluded that it is imperative to work by, with, and through allies and partners in these efforts to strengthen their commitment to common security objectives and increase their ability to defend their own sovereignty.<ref name="auto" />

Mulroy said that the deployment of conventional forces in response to Iran conducting clandestine operations against commercial shipping and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure under the cover of proxies did not have the deterrent effect expected. Mulroy advocated for using IW to respond to Iran's activities and for developing a new strategy in line with the IWA that would economize our force to deny them strategic success.

Mulroy said that the deployment of conventional forces in response to Iran conducting clandestine operations against commercial shipping and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure under the cover of proxies did not have the deterrent effect expected.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/10/pentagon-irregular-tactics-counter-iran-military.html |title=Pentagon turns to irregular tactics to counter Iran |last=Detsch |first=Jack |date=October 17, 2019 |website=Al-Monitor}}</ref> Mulroy advocated for using IW to respond to Iran's activities and for developing a new strategy in line with the IWA that would economize our force to deny them strategic success.<ref name="auto2" /><ref name="newsmax_2019-11-28">{{cite web|last=Bunker|first=Theodore|date=November 28, 2019|title=Pentagon Seeks $25M for Middle East War Zone Diplomats|url=https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/pentagon-diplomats-turkey-usaid/2019/11/28/id/943795/|website=Newsmax}}</ref>

=== China ===

=== China ===