30 July 2008
Studies are showing that the US strategy of considering al-Qaeda a military conflict part of a “war on terrorism”, should have been waged by law enforcement agencies rather than armies. Terrorists are criminals. Al-Qaeda has succeeded in creating large numbers of enemies and will never be able to overthrow a government. It seems that 40 % of terrorist movements dwindle when their political objectives are met. It’s a different story with al-Qaeda as they have a religious and political agenda calling for the overthrow of secular Arab governments.
When local law enforcement arrest or kill key terrorist leaders the groups die away. Military force isn’t the best way to handle these groups. Disrupting terrorist financing is one way of dealing with al-Qaeda but a growing organizational structure has adapted and evolved over time, making it a dangerous enemy. The U.S. military can play a valuable role in training and arming security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to deal with al-Qaeda. Military combat operations, by their presence in Muslim societies, tends to increase terrorist recruitment.
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