text: Appendix A
  • The historical, cultural, political, or economic significance of the area in relation to surrounding
  urban and rural areas or the nation as a whole.
  • The physical effects of the natural and man-made terrain.
  A-3. A primary goal of any IPB is to accurately predict the threat’s likely COA (step four—which may
  include political, social, religious, informational, economic, and military actions). Commanders can then
  develop their own COAs that maximize and apply combat power at decisive points. Understanding the
  decisive points in counterinsurgency operations allows commanders to select objectives that are clearly
  defined, decisive, and attainable.
  REDUCED UNCERTAINTY AND ITS EFFECTS
  A-4. Commanders and their staffs may be unfamiliar with the intricacies of a counterinsurgency
  and more adept at thinking and planning in other environments. Therefore, without detailed situational
  understanding, commanders may assign missions that their subordinate forces may not be able to achieve.
  As importantly, commanders and their staffs may miss critical opportunities because they appear
  overwhelming or impossible (and concede the initiative to the threat). They also may fail to anticipate
  potential threat COAs afforded by the distinctive operational environment. Commanders may fail
  to recognize that the least likely threat COA may be the one adopted precisely because it is least likely and,
  therefore, may be intended to maximize surprise. Misunderstanding the AO’s effect on potential friendly
  and threat COAs may rapidly lead to mission failure and the unnecessary loss of Soldiers’ lives and other
  resources. A thorough IPB of the AO can greatly reduce uncertainty and contribute to mission success.
  AMPLIFIED IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL CONSIDERATIONS
  A-5. In COIN operations, the terrain and enemy are still essential considerations, but the societal
  component of the COIN environment is considered more closely and throughout the operational process.
  Moreover, the human or civil considerations gain importance in COIN or stability operations. As discussed
  in Chapter One, a key tool for the counterinsurgent unit is analyzing civil considerations using ASCOPE.
  Overall, population effects are significant in how they impact the threat, Army forces, and overall
  accomplishment of strategic and operational goals.
  A-6. Describing the battlefield’s effects—step two in IPB—ascribes meaning to the characteristics
  analyzed. It helps commanders understand how the environment enhances or degrades friendly
  and insurgent forces and capabilities. It also helps commanders understand how the environment supports
  the population. It also explains how changes in the “normal” environment (intentional or unintentional
  and because of insurgent or friendly activities) may affect the population. Included in this assessment are
  matters of perception. At each step of the IPB process, commanders must try to determine the HN
  population’s perceptions of ongoing activities to ensure Army operations are viewed as intended.
  Throughout this process, commanders, staffs, and analysts cannot allow their biases—cultural,
  organizational, personal, or cognitive—to markedly influence or alter their assessment (see FM 34-3). This
  particularly applies when they analyze the societal aspect of the operational environment. With so many
  potential groups and varied interests in such a limited area, misperception is always a risk.
  SIGNIFIGANT CHARACTERISTICS IN COIN
  A-7. COIN intelligence analysis must include consideration of the AO’s distinguishing attributes—
  terrain, society, infrastructure, and the threat. Because the COIN environment is so complex, it is often
  useful to break it into categories. Then commanders can understand the intricacies of the environment that
  may affect their operations and assimilate this information into clear mental images. Commanders can then
  synthesize these images of the AO with the current status of friendly and threat forces, and develop a
  desired end state. Then they can determine the most decisive sequence of activities that will move their
  forces from the current state to the end state. Identifying and understanding the environment’s
  characteristics (from a counterinsurgent, insurgent, and HN population’s perspective) allows commanders
  to establish and maintain situational understanding. Then they can develop appropriate COAs and rules
  of engagement that will lead to decisive mission accomplishment.