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The United States and its allies face enormous challenges in charting a sustainable, long-term course for the global War on Terrorism (WOT). The War has become a lightning rod for controversy. While it has achieved some important successes, the jihadist cause that attracts fringe elements in the Islamic world into terrorist organizations appears to be spreading. Transnational terrorism comes in many variants, but groups with a specific national or regional focus do not equate to the kind of globally pervasive threat posed by Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups. The Bush Administration is prosecuting the WOT as a four-pronged campaign: to defeat terrorist networks; to deny these groups state sponsorship; to diminish underlying conditions that terrorist groups exploit; and to defend the U.S. homeland against terrorist attacks. Progress has been made on the first, second and fourth of these missions. The WOT’s long-term success will hinge upon: building reliable partnerships within countries plagued by extremist violence; assuring that CT assistance is not used to stifle legitimate dissent; keeping WMD out of the hands of criminals and terrorists; finding an optimal balance between military and non-military instruments; expanding human intelligence assets; and undermining the extremist ideologies that fuel terrorism. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the priority needs to be on building state capacities in Southeast Asian states and improving security in the maritime domain.
The United States and its allies face enormous challenges in charting a sustainable, long-term course for the global War on Terrorism (WOT). The War has become a lightning rod for controversy. While it has achieved some important successes, the jihadist cause that attracts fringe elements in the Islamic world into terrorist organizations appears to be spreading. Transnational terrorism comes in many variants, but groups with a specific national or regional focus do not equate to the kind of globally pervasive threat posed by Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups. The Bush Administration is prosecuting the WOT as a four-pronged campaign: to defeat terrorist networks; to deny these groups state sponsorship; to diminish underlying conditions that terrorist groups exploit; and to defend the U.S. homeland against terrorist attacks. Progress has been made on the first, second and fourth of these missions. The WOT’s long-term success will hinge upon: building reliable partnerships within countries plagued by extremist violence; assuring that CT assistance is not used to stifle legitimate dissent; keeping WMD out of the hands of criminals and terrorists; finding an optimal balance between military and non-military instruments; expanding human intelligence assets; and undermining the extremist ideologies that fuel terrorism. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the priority needs to be on building state capacities in Southeast Asian states and improving security in the maritime domain.
