RAND dumps on Bush

Strategy Against Al-Qaeda Faulted

The Bush administration's terrorism-fighting strategy has not significantly undermined al-Qaeda's capabilities, according to a major new study that argues the struggle against terrorism is better waged by law enforcement agencies than by armies.

The study by the nonpartisan Rand Corp. also contends that the administration committed a fundamental error in portraying the conflict with al-Qaeda as a "war on terrorism." The phrase falsely suggests that there can be a battlefield solution to terrorism, and symbolically conveys warrior status on terrorists, it said.

"Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors," authors Seth Jones and Martin Libicki write in "How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al-Qaeda," a 200-page volume released yesterday.

But the authors contend that al-Qaeda has sabotaged itself by creating ever greater numbers of enemies while not broadening its base of support. "Al-Qaeda's probability of success in actually overthrowing any government is close to zero," the report states.
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The authors call for a strategy that includes a greater reliance on law enforcement and intelligence agencies in disrupting the group's networks and in arresting its leaders. They say that when military forces are needed, the emphasis should be on local troops, which understand the terrain and culture and tend to have greater legitimacy.

In Muslim countries in particular, there should be a "light U.S. military footprint or none at all," the report contends.

"The U.S. military can play a critical role in building indigenous capacity," it said, "but should generally resist being drawn into combat operations in Muslim societies, since its presence is likely to increase terrorist recruitment."

More or less RAND just shat on the entire Bush/McCain post-9/11 strategy. Putting soldiers on the ground is counter-productive to US goals in reducing terrorism. We need to take on terrorism as more of a law enforcement problem. Essentially more Bill Clinton less George W. Bush. It is yet another in a long long line of repudiations to the failed polices we've engaged in that have made us less safe, hasn't fixed the problems we've needed to fix, and in many was has been completely antithetical to our goals.

Sources say Barack Obama broke out into a strut at yet another positive assessment of his policies and criticisms. John McCain reportedly grabbed a shotgun, fired it into a stack of hay bales, took off his shirt talkin' 'bout "Now who else wanna fuck with Hollywood Court?" Damn.