Weak and failing states define a hotly contested zone of operations where radical Islamist extremists, terrorists, and irregular adversaries will collide with U.S. and allied forces and the partners. The former want to exploit these states and to hasten their collapse in order to create operational sanctuaries and zones of barbarism and to lure American forces into protracted and costly interventions. The latter seek to deny radical extremists and their allies any physical sanctuary, either by preventing state failures by enhancing state capabilities and capacities, or, if necessary, by conducting counter-sanctuary and nation-building operations aimed at rebuilding functioning states capable of fighting the extremists on their own. Obviously, the choice between saving a weak but functioning state from collapse and conducting a major, direct U.S. intervention to rebuild a functioning state from scratch is an easy one to make. Direct interventions and nation-building operations are enormously expensive under the best of circumstances (no armed opponents and a willing population); they can cost billions of dollars a week when actively opposed by irregular enemies. To thwart the cost-imposing strategies of their irregular enemies, the USG and the Joint Force must become better at shoring up weak states and preventing their total collapse and avoiding protracted campaigns where the U.S. has the lead role and responsibility for nation-building. The Solution: Military Support to Indirect Security and Stability Surge Operations Military Support to Indirect Security and Stability Surge Operations are defined as: the full range of tailored conventional, irregular warfare and stabilization, security, transition and reconstruction capabilities and capacities that the future Joint Force, along with early-arriving interagency and foreign partners, can rapidly bring to bear to help a weak but functioning state under severe stress avoid a complete collapse. ISSS operations are proactive in nature and have three key, complementary goals: effect the rapid augmentation and reinforcement of the host nation's government and security force capabilities and capacities in order to arrest the state's further slide toward failure; rapidly expand the host nation's government and security force capabilities and capacities so it can handle its internal challenges largely on its own; and, while doing so, to maintain or enhance the host nation government's domestic credibility and legitimacy. The ISSS Operations JIC broadly describes operational-level solutions for a very challenging future military problem: rapidly surging tailored Joint Force capabilities and capacities to prevent a weak but functioning state under severe stress from systemic breakdowns in governmental services and assaults on its social order from both internal and external threats from suffering a total collapse. Said another way, ISSS operations seek to bolster an existing government's ability to maintain overall control and responsibility for the country's governance, population, and security while maintaining its domestic and regional credibility and legitimacy. ISSS operations are a unique combination of conventional, irregular warfare (IW) and stabilization, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations with an emphasis on preventive, indirect action.