Give Deterrence a Chance: A Strategy Against Al Qaeda

Abstract

Engaged in a global war on terrorism, America is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to rid the world of Al Qaeda, other apocalyptic terrorists, and the regimes that harbor them. In the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, the president has laid out a strategy to defeat these terrorists. While deterrence is contained in the strategy, it is apparent from the application of the strategy that deterrence has not been used or that its use is effective. In application, the strategy has been heavy on defeat and light on deter. It relies on the military, but does little to weave all other aspects of national power to help solve the problem of terrorism. Deterrence has many short comings as a strategy in application against terrorism but these problems can be overcome. This paper will discuss deterrence and terrorism and provide a strategic framework for its use.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 28, 2007
Accession Number
ADA468446

Entities

People

  • Lyle Hoag

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Commerce
  • Deterrence
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Education
  • Globalization
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Societies
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies