Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism

Authored by Dr. Jeffrey Record.

Other Studies by Keyword

+[GWOT] +[global war on terrorism] +[threat conflation] +[war aims] +[al-Qaeda] +[iraq] +[WMD] +[biochemical] +[biological] +[chemical] +[nuclear] +[rogue states] +[sustainability] +[counterterrorism]

Brief Synopsis

The author examines three features of the war on terrorism as currently defined and conducted: (1) the administration's postulation of the terrorist threat, (2) the scope and feasibility of U.S. war aims, and (3) the war's political, fiscal, and military sustainability. He believes that the war on terrorism--as opposed to the campaign against al-Qaeda--lacks strategic clarity, embraces unrealistic objectives, and may not be sustainable over the long haul. He calls for downsizing the scope of the war on terrorism to reflect concrete U.S. security interests and the limits of American military power.

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