How To Win The War On Terror

[maadhav 0]

A couple of comments in { } are mine.

 

 

Newark Star-Ledger

November 21, 2004

 

How To Win The War On Terror

 

By Richard A. Clarke

 

Now that the presidential campaign is behind us, it's time for the nation's political leaders to recognize what many experts in the counterterrorism field have been saying for a long time: America needs to change course in the war on terror.

 

International jihadist groups have conducted twice as many attacks since 9/11 as they did in the three years prior to that date. Jihadist membership has increased over the past three years, and leaders who have been killed or captured have been replaced. Anti- Americanism throughout the Muslim world has been exacerbated by the war in Iraq, which also created a sanctuary for jihadists.

 

It seems clear the United States has failed to eliminate or even seriously weaken the violent Islamist threat. This is the greatest challenge facing our generation, and the 9/11 commission provided an excellent roadmap for confronting it. Building on the commission's recommendations, a task force that I assembled and chaired for The Century Foundation has developed a blueprint for action to defeat the jihadists. Its main elements:

 

Clarify the Threat: To be effective, we must have consensus about the nature of the problem facing us. That threat is not terrorism, or even all terrorist organizations, but rather the jihadist terrorists who seek to hijack Islam and use violence to replace existing governments with nondemocratic theocracies.

 

Engage in the Battle of Ideas {yes.}: In addition to countering the jihadist terrorists with law enforcement, intelligence and military measures, we must erode support for them in the Islamic world. Nations other than the United States (including both Islamic and non-Islamic countries) and nongovernmental organizations must take the lead in actively appealing to Muslims to denounce intolerance and terrorist violence conducted in the name of Islam. These efforts must stress our common values and overcome misunderstandings and terrorist propaganda.

 

Provide Assistance to Islamic Nations {that will not help}: Although jihadist terrorists are often not poor or uneducated, they use the underprivileged populations in some Islamic nations as one base for their support and as a lever for undermining national stability. The United States, the European Union, wealthy Arab states and the international financial institutions must greatly expand their financial and programmatic support for development efforts in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco and other economically challenged Islamic nations. These efforts must support human rights efforts and strengthen educational systems and economic opportunities, especially for women.

 

Tailor Strategies for Key Countries: The United States must have detailed and integrated policies for enhancing stability and democratic forces in key Islamic nations, including Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq. As part of this effort, the United States must develop its own reliable sources of information about domestic political, social and security trends in these nations.

 

Defuse Sources of Islamic Hatred for the United States: The jihadist terrorists oppose the United States not for what it believes or does, but because they see America as a barrier to their creation of theocratic nation-states or caliphates. Many supporters of the jihadists, however, are persuaded to oppose the United States and support the terrorists because of specific U.S. actions and policies, especially America's support for Israel and occupation of Iraq. The United States should not alter its support of Israel, but it should seek to revive the Israel-Palestinian peace process. The United States should not precipitously withdraw from Iraq before indigenous security forces are in place but should cease U.S. military operations against urban areas, transfer rebuilding activities to Iraqi entities, abandon the concept of permanent U.S. military bases in the country, and reduce U.S. goals in Iraq so that a withdrawal can be achieved at an early date.

 

Improve U.S. Intelligence and Law Enforcement Organization: The United States should modify personnel policies in intelligence and law enforcement agencies (notably the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation) to provide for more non-career-track positions. This would allow for an infusion of expertise in a wide range of areas. In addition, the domestic intelligence activities of the FBI should be performed by a distinctly separate new organization within the bureau.

 

Eliminate Terror Financing: The White House should designate a special assistant to the president for combating terrorist financing at the National Security Council, with the specific mandate to lead U.S. efforts on terrorist financing issues. Congress should pass and the president should sign legislation requiring the executive branch to submit to Congress on an annual basis a written certification detailing the steps that foreign nations have taken to cooperate with American and international efforts to combat terrorist financing.

 

Improve U.S. Military Organization: The U.S. military's special operations forces for counterterrorism activities should be greatly expanded and should be supported by a military organization that maintains a covert presence in other nations to support U.S. military action against terrorists. The military must enhance its capabilities and modify its policies to support small-unit special forces operations, including covert operations, against terrorists.

 

Prevent Nuclear Terrorism: Although the probability of nuclear terrorism may not be high, the consequences of failure to prevent it would be catastrophic. The president should appoint a senior official to direct all U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear counterterrorism efforts. Such efforts should include new initiatives to provide international guarantees of nuclear energy supplies in exchange for agreement to terminate enrichment activities.

 

***

 

The war against the jihadists will not be easy or free of casualties. But, unless we learn from our mistakes and chart a new course, the struggle will be much longer, more costly and more painful than necessary.

 

Richard A. Clarke, former head of counterterrorism at the National Se curity Council, is the author of "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror."

===========