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| Strategy Page on reasons for US success in GWOT |
| 2010-11-25 |
| American success against al Qaeda has had a lot to do with the experience of nations that have earlier destroyed similar Islamic terrorist organizations. In particular, the U.S. adopted the Israeli tactic of concentrating on the leadership and technicians. Long term, the U.S. has found that you don't have to kill terrorist leaders to disable them. For example, when American troops drove al Qaeda and the Taliban out of Afghanistan in late 2001, they captured large quantities of records dealing with al Qaeda administration. This was revealing. The al Qaeda leadership was constantly being criticized by subordinates for stupid mistakes, while the leaders were constantly monitoring their people for stealing and malingering. The U.S. made sure a lot of this dirty linen was leaked, and eventually the media in Moslem nations began reporting on it. As al Qaeda popularity declined, so did donations from the Moslem world. This forced the terrorists to resort to crime to raise money. This was publicized, along with details via captured documents, by the Americans. As a result, Moslems began to regard Islamic terrorists as criminals, as well as thoughtless killers. The final blow came from the mouths of captured terrorists. Most of these men tended to speak freely once captured, and often complained about how hard life was as a terrorist. This media campaign against al Qaeda was not, itself, publicized, but was carried out aggressively and discretely. It worked, and it continues to work. Some things just don't survive the bright light of exposure. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |