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
-
With War on Its Doorstep, Iraq Taps a Political Outsider to Become Prime Minister
Podcast
After a long political impasse, Ali al-Zaidi has been tapped to become Iraq’s new prime minister. A wealthy oligarch, al-Zaidi is seen as both a compromise candidate, but also...
By Hamzeh Hadad
-
The Russia-Iran Partnership
Commentary
The United States needs to prioritize increasing the cost of Russia’s support for Iran; sanctions alone are not sufficient and often encourage U.S. adversaries to get more inv...
By Delaney Soliday
-
Commentary
Middle East Security / National Security Law
Continuing Crisis in Strait of Hormuz: Why Iran’s Hold is Illegal and U.S. Military Force Alone FailsIran has drawn explicit lessons from this disruption and is now seeking to institutionalize its control....
By Mark Nevitt
-
Video
Defense / Middle East Security
CNN: 1,000 Army Paratroopers Deploy to Middle East in DaysBecca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security joins CNN to discuss the deployment of troops to Iran and the status of negotiations.Watch the fu...
By Becca Wasser
