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| Terror Networks |
| U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy Risks Irrelevance in Face of Adapting Threat |
| 2018-11-20 |
| [Free Beacon] The U.S. counterterrorism strategy has not kept pace with the ever-evolving threat of jihadi extremism, yielding short-lived military victories against terrorists at the potential cost of losing the broader war, according to a new study. Despite the constantly morphing nature of Islamist extremism, the U.S. approach to defeating groups like al Qaeda and the Islamic States has changed little from that established in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the American Enterprise Institute found in a report released this week. "The U.S. approach to countering the Salafi-jihadi base has yielded fleeting results because the foundational understanding of the enemy is wrong," the report said. "Military victories against groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq certainly eliminated the terrorist threat to the United States from that group for a time, but have proved insufficient to prevent the return of a threat." Katherine Zimmerman, an AEI research fellow and author of the report, said the "crack in the foundation" of American counterterrorism strategy is the "oversimplification of the enemy into a series of discrete groups." She said U.S. policy largely ignores the fact that Islamist extremists do not exist primarily to attack America or Europe, but to replace the governance systems of Muslim-majority countries with their hardline vision of governance and Islam. "America's view of the enemy still centers on the terrorist threats that specific Salafi-jihadi groups pose to the United States homeland or American interests," Zimmerman wrote. "It misses that these groups are part of a global movement that persists beyond the defeat of specific organization or death of a set of individuals." Zimmerman said U.S. and European government officials and analysts wrongly point to the jihadi movement's reprioritization away from attacking Western countries toward establishing itself in local communities as a sign they have weakened. Rather, Islamist extremists move closer toward their overarching goal of regional hegemony by currying local support. She noted that the jihadi movement assesses its success on its ability to transform society locally rather than its ability to attack globally‐"the exact inverse" of how the United States assesses its counterterrorism strategy. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 We really should ask ourselves how the Romans would handle them. I'm sure the answer is there. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2018-11-20 22:18 |
| #5 the jihadi movement's reprioritization away from attacking Western countries toward establishing itself in local communities is a sign they have weakened. However, once they have established themselves locally, they will attack globally. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2018-11-20 11:16 |
| #4 As victory approached, some of the former defense workers were heard to have said, "I hope the war never ends." Coming out of the Great Depression, with its lack of jobs and excess of hunger, the anxiety is understandable. And as I recall, a small depression did follow the end of the war, as factories switched over to civilian products and masses of demobilized troops flooded the employment market. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2018-11-20 08:24 |
| #3 During WWII a massive military build-up and mobilization got underway in the United States. New car production was halted and factories were converted to the war effort. Hundred, possibly thousands of new factories both large and small sprang to life. Employment boomed for both men and women during the war years. After the war ended, most of these factories were shuttered. As victory approached, some of the former defense workers were heard to have said, "I hope the war never ends." ~ Our business is war, and business is good. anon Total victory is the enemy of 'endless wars.' It always has been. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-11-20 07:09 |
| #2 Cause you never really wanted to wage war? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-11-20 06:46 |
| #1 "It misses that these groups are part of a global movement that persists beyond..... It "misses" nothing. The Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) was intentionally deleted from our lexicon by Obama and Co. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-11-20 03:59 |