National Strategy for Combating Terrorism

Just released by the White House - National Strategy for Combating Terrorism.

Anthony Cordesman at CSIS, 25 Sep 06:

Winning the War on Terrorism: The Need for a Fundamentally Different Strategy

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...Part of the problem is conceptual. The United States and most Western nations may be “politically correct” when they call the current struggle a “long war” or “global war on terrorism,” but the reality is very different. Most terrorism is a minor and largely national threat. The real threat is Islamic extremism, specifically neo-Salafi Sunni Islamist extremism. The violent transnational movements that support these beliefs, symbolized by al-Qaeda, are the only serious global threat that uses terrorism. Isolated terrorist movements do need to be defeated, but Irish, Spanish, secular Palestinian, Sri Lankan, Japanese and other such groups are peripheral threats at most.

Recognizing this fact, and focusing on it, is critical to any hope of winning the real “war on terrorism.” The struggle is religious and ideological, not military or driven by secular values. It is a struggle for the future of Islam, and it is not generic, global or focused on political or economic systems.

As such, the real war on terrorism can only be won within Islam and at a religious and ideological level. This does not mean that improving every aspect of counterterrorism at the national, regional and global level is not important. It does means that no amount of outside action by the United States, Europe or non-Islamic states can do more than partially contain the violence. It is only the religious, political and intellectual leaders of Islamic countries and communities, particularly in the Arab world, that can successfully engage and defeat Islamic extremism at a religious, intellectual, political and cultural level...

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This is absolutely the best paper I have read on how to win!!! This person knows what Strategy really is!!! As usual great fine Jed.

Quote:

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The West needs to understand, however, that none of these measures will ever enable the West to “win.” They at best enable Western forces to score limited tactical victories, help local forces contain major terrorist movements, defend home territory and buy time. If the West seeks to use major long-term deployments of U.S., British or other non-Islamic forces to fight sustained struggles in Islamic countries, the end result will be to breed new extremists and terrorists. As Afghanistan and Iraq have shown, military and counterterrorist battles need to be won by local and Islamic forces, not “occupiers,” “crusaders” and “neo-imperialists.”

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To paraphrase, we need to understand that in a global COIN where the population inside the Muslim community is the objective, our strategy must recognize and act on the idea that such a en effort is NOT intrinsically a DoD lead.

I agree, Slap. Another great post, Jed.

best
Tom