text: Indirect Methods for Countering Insurgencies
  Figure 10-2. Negotiation and diplomacy
  10-21. The goal of negotiation and diplomacy is to address the insurgent root cause and therefore reduce
  the causes for armed conflict. If a host nation can be influenced by U.S. government or military personnel
  to peacefully address root causes, then the expected outcome is a reduction in violence and bringing the
  insurgents into the political process to have their issues resolved peacefully. If the host-nation government
  can do this successfully, the insurgency may not totally go away, but it may only use force of arms in a
  limited context that would manifest as limited insurrections compared to a full blown armed insurgency.
  10-22. The U.S. has many tools at its disposal to influence a host nation in addressing the root causes of
  an insurgency. For example, economic and military aid can be tied to certain actions or standards of
  behavior by a host nation. Counterinsurgents must also evaluate how their actions help shape the
  environment. Contracting, for example, has direct links to the economy and the society. Using contracts to
  encourage a host nation to address root causes is another possible tool. In sum, commanders should make
  an assessment of how they are interfacing with a host nation and determine what tools are available to
  enable and encourage the host nation to take the needed actions to defeat an insurgency.
  10-23. In an armed conflict environment where U.S. forces have been sent in to assist a host nation to
  fight its insurgency, U.S. military personnel can work with the host-nation armed forces to reduce causes
  for conflict, and U.S. military personnel can also interact with U.S. and host-nation government personnel
  to take steps to peacefully address core grievances and root causes of conflict.
  10-24. In a peacetime environment where U.S. forces are not committed to help a host nation combat its
  insurgency, U.S. military personnel can lessen the causes of a potential crisis or insurgency in the conduct
  of security cooperation activities and bi-lateral military exercises. If one of the insurgents’ root causes is
  against the host-nation military for human rights abuses or using heavy handed tactics with the local
  population, U.S. military personnel can work with the military wing of the government to find alternative
  ways of dealing with the population.