text: Chapter 2
  PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS
  2-6. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and precision weapons will increase the potential
  for catastrophic attacks. The threat or use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist organizations is as
  real as it is deadly. Weapons of mass destruction present significant possibilities beyond terrorist actors. If
  an insurgent group acquires them, they can allow the insurgent group to pressure the host nation or attack a
  target that would have countrywide, regional, or global strategic affects. These weapons can provide an
  insurgent group with capabilities unmatched in the history of irregular warfare. The likelihood of an
  insurgent group obtaining these weapons has never been higher because of both globalization and the
  number of failed states. As ethnic and ideological groups enhance bonds that go beyond state boundaries,
  and insurgent groups create vast safe haven areas within failed states, the proliferation of weapons of mass
  destruction creates new possibilities for insurgencies. Not only will insurgents strive to obtain weapons of
  mass destruction, but the continued availability of more precise, cheaper, and more lethal conventional
  weapons will make insurgent actions more deadly than in the past. (See FM 3-11/MCWP 3-37.1 for more
  information on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear operations.)
  FAILING OR FAILED STATES
  2-7. Governments of nation-states face increasingly greater challenges in providing effective support to
  their growing populations. The problems of both demographic changes and the pressures of globalization,
  corruption, lack of government services, and decaying infrastructure can lead to a failed state. A failed state
  can provide insurgent groups safe havens to build their organizations, but it may also hinder their ability to
  promulgate their message and actions due to a lack of infrastructure. (See FM 3-07 for a detailed discussion
  on a failed state framework.)
  THE OPERATIONAL VARIABLES
  2-8. An operational environment is a composite of the conditions, circumstances, and influences that
  affect the employment of capabilities and bear on the decisions of the commander (JP 3-0). Commanders
  and staffs analyze and describe an operational environment in terms of eight interrelated operational
  variables: political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment, and time.
  The operational variables are fundamental to developing a comprehensive understanding of an operational
  environment.
  2-9. When viewing an operational environment, it is important to identify friendly, neutral, and hostile
  actors. However, it is uniquely important in counterinsurgency operations that commanders and staff do not
  view these actors as static and unchanging over time. Actors can become more hostile or become less
  hostile. It is the interaction between the actors and the changes between their interactions that is important.
  The actors have many influences on their actions and those influences help determine if an actor stays the
  same, becomes friendlier, or becomes more hostile. (See JP 2-01.3 for more information on an operational
  environment.)
  2-10. In Iraq's Anbar Province, the eight interrelated operational variables created a unique operational
  environment. The al Qaim tribes had different interests, both political and economic, than both the
  Americans and al Qaeda. Religion, economic interests, culture, and other variables helped to shape the
  actions of everyone in the operational environment. The Marine Corps had to act in this environment and
  attempt to shape it. This was a process that required situational understanding and an appreciation for the
  unique environment.
  The Anbar Province Operational Environment
  The Anbar Province’s al Qaim district became increasingly important to Abu
  Musab al-Zarqawi’s al Qaeda in Iraq after November 2004 when it lost its sanctuary
  to the American forces’ offensive in the second battle of Fallujah. The al Qaim district
  is located on Iraq’s border with Syria. Although the district represents only 10% of the
  Anbar population, the area holds strategic importance due to its location along the
  Iraqi/Syrian border as well as the Euphrates River. Al Qaim is and always has been a
  lucrative smuggling route for black market goods and served as al Qaeda in Iraq’s