Losing the War on Terror

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There are a whole range of sensible preventive measures that can make us safer without causing tremendous blowback, because they're consistent with the rule of law. There's guarding nuclear stockpiles around the world so that terrorists won't get them; better screening of cargo on airplanes; better screening of containers coming into shipping ports; better information sharing among law enforcement intelligence. A more thoughtful foreign policy would undermine some of the big problems that drive people to support groups like al-Qaida. We could engage with the world in more positive ways through foreign aid instead of putting military bases around the world. And, when we use coercive methods -- because sometimes coercive methods are justified -- we need to do so in accordance with the rule of law. If we had done that, we would be both more free, and more safe.

Why do people still subscribe to the preventive doctrine?

There are people in this administration who think that the only thing that works is hard power, military might, acting tough. If the last six years have shown anything, it's that it doesn't work. We need to be much more attentive to our soft power, to our influence throughout the world, to our legitimacy. What everybody agrees on is that this is a war of ideas. We're not going to win the war of ideas if we are perceived as engaging in illegitimate tactics.

There are other countries that have dealt with terrorism in the past. Do their struggles offer any insights for us?

They do. For example the UK has struggled with terrorism for decades. With the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the government's initial responses were somewhat similar to the responses the administration here undertook. They authorized long-term internment without trial; they authorized coercive interrogation; they overreacted in a variety of military ways. What they found was that these tactics only strengthened the support within the Irish community for the IRA. Nowadays it's widely accepted within the UK that these measures are counterproductive. You've got to be resilient; you've got to be measured in your responses. The last thing you want to do is declare a war and treat the terrorists as warriors. That gives them the kind of renown that they want.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?

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