J. Robert Kane
Introduction
Since belatedly 2001, counterterrorism has been the firstly national security initiatory of the U.S. government. More has been invested inwards counterterrorism responses than whatever other bird of national security or armed services operations to include combating aggressions from near-peer threats. [1] President Bush declared a ‘War on Terror’ together with it has been a state of war nosotros take away maintain waged equally a province ever since together with without making whatever empirical play towards victory. [2] President Obama called the state of war over but the conflict together with U.S. involvement has non ended. [3] The employment may live that nosotros exactly may non take away maintain learned the lessons that nosotros were taught of the yesteryear 17 years.
Time together with fourth dimension again, counterterrorism experts both inwards cabinet policy together with armed services capacities alike take away maintain contended that y'all cannot exactly kill your way to victory when it comes to countering terrorism or trigger-happy extremism. They take away maintain argued that kinetic acts, such equally drone strikes or capturing battlefield combatants, create non thus much equally bring down terrorists or terrorist actions (albeit temporarily) equally much equally they fuel the burn to a novel generation of extremists.
Meanwhile, nosotros take away maintain invested most of our counterterrorism resources to either killing or capturing terrorists despite these revelations. Be it through signature drone strikes that kill potential terrorists through designing recognition that too final result inwards potentially massive collateral impairment or covert rendition programs intended to capture terrorists for the sake of removing them from their organizations or for purposes of collecting intelligence, kinetic armed services actions take away maintain been the staff of life together with butter of U.S. counterterrorism efforts. [5]
What We Should Have Learned About Counterterrorism
The former saying of killing 1 terrorist leads to a handful to a greater extent than of newly enticed recruits to extremism is true. We take away maintain known that for a quite a while. But our policy does non reverberate it. We assume that if nosotros militarily defeat these extremists to a difficult plenty score that they volition live forced to give upwards together with the state of war on terrorism volition live won.
Unfortunately, that is non the case. The lessons nosotros were taught over the yesteryear almost 2 decades should take away maintain shown us that. The roots of terrorism are societal, political together with economic. If anyone has approximately tribulation against the West or inwards our case, the United States, terrorist acts together with extremism volition exist. It is never going away together with most specially non through creature force.
But peradventure the ground that nosotros believe that terrorism is susceptible to armed services activity inwards the way nosotros take away maintain displayed it volition operate is because terrorists create inwards fact halt when striking difficult enough. At this point, nosotros scream back that nosotros defeated them. The employment is that nosotros misunderstand what it agency when a terrorist grouping stops or is defeated according to a western perspective. Most policy officials create non acquire this but approximately word analysts do. The employment mainly has to create alongside mirror-imaging. [6]
When nosotros scream back of a truce from a western perspective, nosotros scream back that the other side has given up—that the opponent has thrown inwards the towel together with risen the give upwards flag, signifying that the fighting is done. That is what word professionals working counterterrorism take away maintain been taught themselves. The employment is that jihadist terrorists don’t scream back of truces inwards the same light. For intelligence, that brings nearly a representative of mirror-imaging that is augmented yesteryear grouping think.
Unlike to a greater extent than traditional adversaries who tin sack live forced to quit through forcefulness or armed services might, terrorist groups to a greater extent than ofttimes than non create not. They may move cloak-and-dagger but it is alone to alive long plenty to pick out the fighting to the enemy at a afterwards time
The Islamic State of Republic of Iraq together with the Levant (ISIL) represents the most rapid transformation together with evolution of a terrorist grouping that nosotros take away maintain ever seen. Beginning equally an offshoot of al-Qaeda together with developing into al-Qaeda inwards Republic of Iraq (AQI), ISIL has shown to live goodness at surviving no thing the cost. [7] This was showtime seen when AQI’s leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, broke away from the mind grouping inwards Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan together with thus led yesteryear Usama bin Laden inwards 2006. Differing inwards sentiment alongside bin Laden together with willing to fighting equally an independent grouping exterior of his sphere of influence, al-Zarqawi was willing to take away maintain the take away chances of fighting on his ain together with engaging inwards trigger-happy jihad on his ain terms. [8] Hence, ISIL was born.
While it tin sack live argued that ISIL is non a terrorist grouping according to U.S. Government definitions because it holds the world together with that is something that insurgencies create spell terrorist groups create not, its tactics rest the same. [9] This is of import because the the world belongings business office of ISIL’s operations must live treated equally an insurgency, the tactics they utilization to attain political gain are forms of terrorism together with tin sack live treated equally such.
ISIL has been striking alongside many blows but it has non gone away. While the grouping may non take away maintain equally many unusual operations straight off equally it did previously, that does non hateful it is coming to the cease of its life cycle. ISIL is reorganizing itself inwards guild to develop its resources inwards guild to computer programme together with execute equally many unusual operations equally possible. That is the target of going cloak-and-dagger equally a terrorist organization. Doing thus allows the organisation to last together with bring down attrition yesteryear reducing the potential for farther armed services or constabulary enforcement activity against it.
When a terrorist grouping similar ISIL suffers a loss, it does non exactly telephone telephone it quits together with motion on to approximately other endeavor. Surrender is never actually an option. It exactly agency that the organisation was striking difficult together with cannot move on fighting for now.[11] When other groups would disband, terrorist organizations to a greater extent than ofttimes than non move underground. They apply help to lost or wound assets, recruit together with prepare novel operatives, formulate novel plans together with to a greater extent than ofttimes than non construct upwards plenty strength to fighting approximately other day. [12]
Some Americans fighting that terrorist grouping leaders who come upwards up alongside assail plans together with mail immature martyrs to take away maintain their ain lives inwards suicide attacks are hypocritical. They say that these older ringleaders of the terrorist organisation exactly shroud inwards security together with push clit a fast 1 on (persuade) to a greater extent than disadvantaged immature men (and straight off fifty-fifty women) to martyr themselves inwards the mention of Islam.
But zip could live farther from the truth. While these jihadists hold off forrad to the afterlife together with the promises it entails, they even thus take away maintain a mission to attain on earth. For that reason, they cannot exactly all run off to buy the farm equally martyrs. They take away maintain to alive to fighting approximately other 24-hour interval inwards guild to accomplish the mission, to fulfill the objectives of the jihad. [13]
As approximately terrorist groups eventually create come upwards to an end, to a greater extent than a born. It is business office of the life bicycle of terrorism. Certain groups similar the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) create retire. The PFLP did thus because its nurture organization, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), no longer felt the require to engage inwards terrorism to attain its political objectives. [14] Other organizations similar the Taliban take away maintain strong ideological considerations that warrant their existence. [15] For them, it is non a thing anymore of deterring U.S. interests abroad anymore, inwards damage of hitting American targets equally much equally it is fighting for the necessary portions of Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan together with Islamic Republic of Pakistan that they wish to control. [16]
More extensively, Hezbollah has constitute a way to engage inwards terrorist operations equally needed both for its ain agenda equally good equally its state-sponsored agenda via proxy of Iran. As political objectives require to live satisfied through unorthodox means, terrorism becomes the agency of choice. For Hezbollah, it plant effectively. [17] Like the PLO, Hezbollah has constitute ways to attain political objectives through legitimacy equally good together with that has been a strong focus of the organisation inwards southern Lebanon. [18] But it does resort to traditional terrorism operations exterior of the Lebanese edge together with that is highlighted yesteryear Hezbollah’s unopen working human relationship alongside Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC)-Qods. [19] Hezbollah may non live equally much of a threat to American interests straight off equally it was inwards the ‘80s. But it definitely is a complicating forcefulness inwards the Arabian Peninsula, inwards particular, together with terrorism even thus is the method of selection inwards conducting operations. [20]
Conclusion
Terrorist groups take away maintain come upwards together with gone. Some are seen to live to a greater extent than persistent than others. But the fact remains that at that topographic point are ever approximately inwards existence. Whether or non they move cloak-and-dagger at points inwards fourth dimension or telephone telephone a truce inwards jihad, they create thus to resurface together with resume operations harder than where they left off. [21]
That is why terrorism volition ever rest a threat. As long equally individual believes their troubles together with tribulations are a production of the United States, our province volition ever rest a focus of terrorist threats. Just because the threat has been leveraged inwards intensity, create non live fooled into thinking that it has only gone away. The terrorist threat is chronic. It has its high together with lows. But if y'all lose sight of its potential, y'all volition non live prepared to halt it when the fourth dimension comes.
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