Al Qaeda's Operating Environments: A New Approach to the War on Terror

[Valin]

AEI:

(Click Here for video)

WASHINGTON, MARCH 7, 2011--Nearly a decade after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the US government has neither articulated nor executed a coherent and nuanced strategy to reduce al Qaeda's territorial strength abroad, according to a new AEI report discussed Monday at an American Enterprise Institute event. Report coauthor Charlie Szrom noted that al Qaeda's sanctuaries in Yemen and Pakistan have facilitated a number of attacks and plots against the American homeland in the last eighteen months, demonstrating the importance of understanding territory in forming a comprehensive strategy in the war on terror. Coauthor Chris Harnisch explained that, of the three al Qaeda operating environments, a quasi state poses the greatest long-term threat, giving terrorist groups like al Shabaab in Somalia unimpeded mobility and security. Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution pointed out that the case of Iraq--in which taking territory away from enemy groups rendered them ineffective--gives credence to the geography-based construct laid out in the report. AEI's Frederick W. Kagan underscored the importance of the human dimension to al Qaeda networks. He added that a successful strategy must be synergistic, holistically evaluating the war on terror in connection with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Click Here for report.