What military strategy can win the War on Terror: Air power alone or more ground forces?

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by Martin W. Schwartz

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There is no single strategy that can defeat the terrorists who plague Western Civilization. Terrorism, as it has evolved today, is a worldwide issue, fostered by religious zealotry and hatred, and carried out by many different groups in and from developed, developing, underdeveloped and failed-state countries.

While air power might be effective in combating terrorist groups in open country, it works less well in mountainous areas like Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan, where the natural environment provides shelter and protection from even the most massive of conventional air strikes.

This is why Usama bin Laden was not killed in 2001 when the United States and its allies used overwhelming air power in attacking the Tora Bora area where he and the Al Qaeda leadership were holed up. Because we did not have enough trained ground combat forces in the area to seal it off, bin Laden and his top lieutenants were able to escape to the border areas of Pakistan not under control of that country's central government.

Conversely, the use of ground forces often works well in open or forested terrain, or in urban settings. But, as we saw in places like Somalia, it is ineffective when you are fighting in an area with a hostile, armed populace, who resent any occupying foreign forces.

Without air support and the resolve to inflict damage on the civilian population - in other words a total war strategy - it is a losing proposition to throw either armies or air forces against entrenched guerillas.

And in dealing with terrorists who have entered developed countries, such as the London subway bombers and the sleeper cells periodically uprooted in the United States and Europe, military force is useless. This is strictly an intelligence and law enforcement function and requires a close working relationship among agencies, rather than any intercinine turf wars for credit in making arrests.

In real and practical terms, terrorists will always be with us. Whether motivated by religion or other reasons, it is as impossible to stamp it out as it is to eliminate crime or win the so-called War on Drugs. Conflict, religious extremism and ethnic hatred are simply part and parcel of the human condition.

You cannot change the nature of people by use of force. Thus you cannot control terrorism solely by the use of military power. What is required is a combination of efforts. Ground, naval and air forces where you are in appropriate hostile terrain, to degrade the power and capabilities of organized terrorist groups. Special operations commando forces to deal with smaller cells in host countries.

Intelligence operations, including the use of drone surveillance and attack aircraft in areas harboring terrorists and without any interference from the local governments. And in countries where there are functioning, friendly governments, there must be close cooperation of intelligence and law enforcement personnel to locate, infiltrate and disrupt groups intent on committing acts of terrorism against the population and infrastructure.

There must also must be a concerted effort by all countries to stop the flow of funds into terrorist coffers, be it from donations, businesses or illegal enterprises such as the opium trade. Without money, these groups cannot operate or procure weapons and explosives and they will wither and break apart.

Finally, it is important that Western Nations invest in the infrastructure and development of opportunity for the populace in underdeveloped and threatened nations, especially in Asia and the Middle East, where terrorism has its base of strength, so that the people have hope and a chance to improve their lives. Otherwise the continued radicalization of these folks will provide a nearly infinite supply of terrorists for generations to come.

There are no simplistic solutions to fighting terrorism. If you want to declare war upon it, then as we learned in Iraq, be prepared to shore up any peace that you achieve.

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