Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism
According to President Bush, "the American people are safer" as a result of invading Iraq. True, Saddam Hussein has been removed from power. But al Qaeda, the group that planned and carried out the attacks on September 11, remains at large. Meanwhile, the White House has conceded that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks.

Charles Peña argues that the war in Iraq is but one misstep in the Bush administration's "global war on terror." Terrorism is simply a tactic, however, not an enemy. Trying to eradicate it is a quixotic quest that does not focus on those responsible for 9/11. Instead, the national security strategy should consist of three central elements: establishing homeland security against further attacks; dismantling the al Qaeda terrorist network; and enacting a foreign policy that does not attract new al Qaeda terrorists.

This approach requires restructuring U.S. forces and ending Cold War-era commitments that distract from the current, pressing threat. It also requires ameliorating the negative consequences of an interventionist U.S. foreign policy, which creates incentives and opportunities for terrorists to target the United States.

If we misdiagnose al Qaeda's motivations or focus military efforts on the wrong targets, then we run the risk that the war against the al Qaeda terrorist threat (and the radical Islamic ideology it represents) will become a broader war against the Islamic world that could last generations and cost countless lives. With a foreword by Michael Scheuer, the bestselling author of Imperial Hubris.
1113661607
Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism
According to President Bush, "the American people are safer" as a result of invading Iraq. True, Saddam Hussein has been removed from power. But al Qaeda, the group that planned and carried out the attacks on September 11, remains at large. Meanwhile, the White House has conceded that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks.

Charles Peña argues that the war in Iraq is but one misstep in the Bush administration's "global war on terror." Terrorism is simply a tactic, however, not an enemy. Trying to eradicate it is a quixotic quest that does not focus on those responsible for 9/11. Instead, the national security strategy should consist of three central elements: establishing homeland security against further attacks; dismantling the al Qaeda terrorist network; and enacting a foreign policy that does not attract new al Qaeda terrorists.

This approach requires restructuring U.S. forces and ending Cold War-era commitments that distract from the current, pressing threat. It also requires ameliorating the negative consequences of an interventionist U.S. foreign policy, which creates incentives and opportunities for terrorists to target the United States.

If we misdiagnose al Qaeda's motivations or focus military efforts on the wrong targets, then we run the risk that the war against the al Qaeda terrorist threat (and the radical Islamic ideology it represents) will become a broader war against the Islamic world that could last generations and cost countless lives. With a foreword by Michael Scheuer, the bestselling author of Imperial Hubris.
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Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism

Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism

by Charles Peña
Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism

Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism

by Charles Peña

eBook

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Overview

According to President Bush, "the American people are safer" as a result of invading Iraq. True, Saddam Hussein has been removed from power. But al Qaeda, the group that planned and carried out the attacks on September 11, remains at large. Meanwhile, the White House has conceded that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks.

Charles Peña argues that the war in Iraq is but one misstep in the Bush administration's "global war on terror." Terrorism is simply a tactic, however, not an enemy. Trying to eradicate it is a quixotic quest that does not focus on those responsible for 9/11. Instead, the national security strategy should consist of three central elements: establishing homeland security against further attacks; dismantling the al Qaeda terrorist network; and enacting a foreign policy that does not attract new al Qaeda terrorists.

This approach requires restructuring U.S. forces and ending Cold War-era commitments that distract from the current, pressing threat. It also requires ameliorating the negative consequences of an interventionist U.S. foreign policy, which creates incentives and opportunities for terrorists to target the United States.

If we misdiagnose al Qaeda's motivations or focus military efforts on the wrong targets, then we run the risk that the war against the al Qaeda terrorist threat (and the radical Islamic ideology it represents) will become a broader war against the Islamic world that could last generations and cost countless lives. With a foreword by Michael Scheuer, the bestselling author of Imperial Hubris.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781612343235
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.
Publication date: 04/30/2006
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Charles Peña is a senior fellow with the Independent Institute, the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy, and the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute. He is also an adviser on the Straus Military Reform Project, and the former director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute. In addition to regular appearances as a terrorism analyst on MSNBC, he has appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews, NPR's Morning Edition, CNN's Newsnight with Aaron Brown, NBC Nightly News, and The McLaughlin Group. Peña is the coauthor of Exiting Iraq: Why the U.S. Must End the Military Occupation and Renew the War Against Al Qaeda. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Table of Contents


List of Figures     ix
Foreword     xi
Preface     xv
Acknowledgments     xix
Introduction: The Un-War     xxiii
Enemy at the Gates     1
A Dangerous Distraction     25
Clearing the Decks for War     49
A War Not Won by the Military     73
Yin and Yang of al Qaeda     97
Tao of Strategy     119
The Last Line of Defense     149
Afterword     171
Appendix 1     175
Appendix 2     187
Notes     189
Suggested Reading     227
Index     233
About the Author     241
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