February 27, 2017
President Trump’s Counterterrorism Paradox
President Trump kept two aspects of his foreign policy vision consistent throughout the campaign and after the November election. He promises to reduce U.S. intervention into foreign conflicts because “we’re all over the place fighting in areas that we shouldn't be fighting.” He also vows to subdue the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other terrorist groups that threaten the United States. Preventing terrorists from operating in unstable environments and directing attacks elsewhere is a task that, ostensibly, may require U.S. military action. Thus, the president finds himself in a paradoxical situation: How can one honor pledges to draw down military interventions while simultaneously commit to effectively defeating a terrorist group with an extensive global reach? Special operations forces (SOF) units and drones will surely remain key in responding to this threat environment in a way which is congruent with the President’s policies.
Long-term, however, this approach won’t work. Both SOF units and the drone program face serious operational and reputational limits after a decade of overuse. Further depleting these resources will damage U.S. counterterrorism capabilities.
President Obama entered office in 2009 with promises similar to President Trump’s in 2017 – eliminating terrorist threats while limiting U.S. involvement in large, protracted conflicts. This so-called “right-sizing” of U.S. military presence in the Middle East increased reliance on SOF troops and drones as counterterrorism tactics. However, ISIS’s 2014 rout of U.S.-trained Iraqi Security Forces as part of its attempt to reestablish the “caliphate” showcased the weakness of this minimalist counterterrorism strategy.
Read the full article at Defense News.
More from CNAS
-
To Understand the Middle East’s Future, Follow the Cranes
Commentary
The Middle East exemplifies the reality that control of infrastructure has always meant more than commerce. That competition is already underway. Follow the cranes....
By Eitan Danon & Josh Kram
-
Rethinking Treasury's Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Office
Commentary
The United States does not need a new department. It needs its existing economic statecraft apparatus to work—better resourced, better organized, and better calibrated to a th...
By Alex Zerden
-
Daniel Silverberg on Amanpour & Company
Video
National security expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security Daniel Silverberg joined Prof. Mehran Kamrava on Amanpour & Company to discuss Sec...
By Daniel Silverberg
-
Podcast
Indo-Pacific Security / Middle East Security
The Global Power Shift No One Is Talking About – And Who’s Driving ItMost people see the world as the U.S. vs. China. But the real power shift is happening elsewhere. Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and a former ...
By Richard Fontaine
