14 September 2006
War on Terrorism Is a "Long War," Counterterrorism Expert Says, September 14, 2006(Diplomatic, political and economic efforts needed)
By Michelle Austein
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – Successful counterinsurgencies usually last a decade, according to counterterrorism expert Bruce Hoffman in a USINFO webchat September 14.
This means the U.S. War on Terror is still in its early days, he said.
"Even five years into the war on terrorism, we are just beginning to accept the notion that this is indeed a long war," Hoffman said. The National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, updated in September by the White House and U.S. National Security Council, reflects this, he said. The update recognizes that "we need a much richer mix of countermeasures – in addition to military force – diplomacy, political reform and economic development – to prevail against this threat," Hoffman said.
"Counterinsurgency depends as much on diplomatic initiatives, political reform, economic development and information operations as it does on military force," Hoffman added.
While the United States is safer today, the al-Qaida terror network continues to find new ways to attack and the threat of terrorism continues despite progresses made. "We face an enormously adaptive and innovative enemy," Hoffman said.
Although the war on terrorism is more than a battle to capture just one person, it still is critical to capture al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, Hoffman said. "It would be a significant blow to terrorist morale worldwide and it would also serve justice on the perpetrator of the worst terrorist attack in history."
President Bush and most other senior U.S. leaders have emphasized that this war is not a war on Islam or against Muslims. However, many Muslims are not convinced that this is the case, Hoffman said. "More work needs to be done in this respect and bridges built and maintained," he said.
Hoffman is the director of the Washington office of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit policy analysis organization, where he also holds the RAND Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency.
A transcript of his webchat and additional information are available on USINFO's Webchat Station.
For more information about the United States in the five years following September 11, see the eJournal USA Rebuilding and Resistance: Five Years After 9/11.
