Nonpartisan Think Tank Releases New Terrorism Study: Beyond the Campaign: The Future of Countering Terrorism 3/4/2004
From: Bryan Lee Cummings of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs, 202-289-7524 or BeyondTheCampaign@censa.net NEW YORK, March 4 -- The following was released today by the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs: "Countering terrorism is both more and less than a war. We are in it for the long haul, but we cannot win by military means alone. In this volume, a bright new generation of security experts explains how to combine military and economic aid, multilateral diplomacy, stemming financial flows, public diplomacy and soft power to meet one of the greatest challenges of our time." Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government The Council for Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA) today released a new study analyzing future directions for the war on terrorism. The nonpartisan think tank's new study, Beyond the Campaign: The Future of Countering Terrorism, addresses a broad range of issues impacting counterterrorism policies, including multilateral security cooperation, terrorist financing networks, the use of foreign aid, and the need to bring different regional perspectives to bear. "In selecting the thrust of this volume, it seemed that the best use of these pages was not to analyze the military component of the war on terror," notes Project Director Bryan Lee Cummings, in his introduction to the volume. "The importance of a non-military approach to strategy is becoming ever more important." This volume is unique in its collection of analysis from mid- career professionals who are working full time "on the ground" in their chosen professions, but who have taken the time to apply their professional expertise directly to scholarly analysis in mid-stream. The authors' insights stem from their current and past work with the US government and military, elite think-tanks, academia, and the private sector. These professionals train their analysis on a range of key issues for the long-term war on terror. As Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden, explains in the volume's Foreword, the book examines: "how to mitigate the conflict between the United States and the Muslim world; the exact nature of the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; how best to maintain liaison relationships with allies that produce key intelligence going forward; and the future course of the war on terrorism." The authors warn that the struggle elevates the importance of issues and regions long considered secondary in nature. While the complex links between poverty and terrorism have received prominent placement in newscasts over the past two years, for example, author Richard Verma takes a fresh and critical look at the way foreign aid programs are both targeted and funded. South America, seldom considered a source of serious physical threat to the US, receives scrutiny from Wes Moore and Tom Hartwell, who examine both the terrorism of the drug cartels and growing Islamic fundamentalism in the tri-border region that connects Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Likewise, Paul Daniels suggests concrete measures to strengthen US policymaking in the "wild west" of Central Asia. The compendium also proposes reforms to the way the US makes policy. In its concluding chapter, Michael Fenzel and Lee Wolosky suggest that the government should shift its diplomacy to a regional approach to counter a truly transnational threat, while increasing the frequency of our most productive bilateral negotiations. James Gillespie and Lee Wolosky examine the complex challenge of stemming the flow of money to terrorists, while other authors examine US plans to safeguard nuclear material (Lukas Haynes), the links between a nuclear North Korea and terrorism (William Robison), and the US approach to terrorism in Southeast Asia (Brad Lindenbaum). Peter Singer and Ehsaneh Sadr suggest ways to improve the reception of US actions in the Muslim world, while Stephen Ostrowski argues that the US can improve its effectiveness in the rest of the world by investing more in multilateral institutions. Kevin Bell, Chris Gray, and Steven Mentor in turn make a case for multilateralism based on a detailed analysis of terrorism's evolving characteristics. "Counterterrorism strategy," suggests Isaiah Wilson, must "reach across the entire spectrum and full dimensions of conflict, a domain comprised more of pre-conflict operations than post- strike options." While acknowledging the critical role played by the military, the authors in this volume look beyond for ways to stem terrorism at its source. These are not the views of armchair historians or ivory-tower idealists, but of policymakers in the military, the government, the public sector and the legal community who understand the tradeoffs and realities inherent in crafting practical foreign policy. This publication provides a seldom-heard voice from the policy trenches of the war on terrorism. It is a voice that should be thoughtfully considered by both the nation's public and its leadership. --- Advance praise for 'Beyond the Campaign': �Countering terrorism is both more and less than a war. We are in it for the long haul, but we cannot win by military means alone. In this volume, a bright new generation of security experts explains how to combine military and economic aid, multilateral diplomacy, stemming financial flows, public diplomacy and soft power to meet one of the greatest challenges of our time.� -- Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of Harvard�s Kennedy School of Government and author of The Paradox of American Power �Beyond the Campaign examines the evolving terrorist threat and government response. As the chapters are from some of the best thinkers on national security, it is a must read for both the informed reader and the specialist.� -- Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror ------ The Council for Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA) is a non-partisan, non-profit 501 (c)(3) research organization established in 1999. CENSA brings together high caliber midcareer professionals from government, business, academia and the military to discuss key national security issues and build networks between historically separate public and private sector institutions. With 250 competitively selected members, CENSA contributes to the dialogue shaping national security policy through formal discussion series in six cities, graduate level teaching seminars, virtual collaboration on publications, and high caliber research programs. Further information on CENSA, its publications, its membership, and ordering information, please visit http://www.censa.net. For a pdf review copy, please send an email to BeyondTheCampaign@censa.net with your name and affiliation. |