Duke Forum - America's War Against Terrorism

Punish, Protect, Prevent, Prepare

Bruce W. Jentleson

If we eliminate Osama bin Laden, and even if we disrupt or destroy his al Qaeda network, that will reduce the terrorist threat - but not eliminate it. For this is not just about an individual terrorist or particular terrorist organization, it is about terrorism as a broader, more pervasive and more ongoing threat, a clear and present danger that we will continue to face, and one that requires a long-term and comprehensive effort. The framework for this strategy is fourfold: Punish, Protect, Prevent, Prepare.

Punish: While we do not yet know if the military action begun this week by the United States and Great Britain will succeed, we should have no doubt about its necessity. Military action alone it is not an effective strategy against terrorism. But without strong military action, we have no chance at an effective strategy. Military action is not the whole strategy, but the strategy will not be whole without it.

We have a moral right to take such action. So long as it remains proportionate, carefully targeted and aimed at those who organize, support and carry out terrorism, it is consistent with traditions of just war. And not only do we have a moral right, we have a moral responsibility to act, for there is no more essential responsibility for any government than to provide for the safety and security of its citizens.

Protect: We cannot just forget about the rest of the defense and security agenda and our vital interests around the world, but we must refocus our defense strategy and structure, with the #1 priority being our security here at home. Recommendations to this effect were made long before Sept. 11. It's high time for a genuinely comprehensive defense review that takes on vested political and bureaucratic interests -- in both the legislative and executive branches, in both political parties, and among lobbies inside the Beltway and around the country -- and delivers a defense budget and defense strategy optimally geared to the threats we now face.

Even our best individual efforts, though, are not enough. One of our great successes so far has been forging the broad-based diplomatic coalition. We need to be strategic, though, in pursuing these objectives without losing sight of other key issues in ways that boomerang down the road. We need to learn from such past miscalculations as with the overembrace of the Shah of Iran in the 1970s, the overtilt to Iraq in the 1980s, and the too-quick exit from Afghanistan after 1989.

Prevent: We must improve our prevention efforts. We have had some successes already; good intelligence work, through our own efforts and with our allies, is key. Also key are political and economic reforms in the Middle East. Poverty, human rights abuses and unstable governments contribute to discontent and a desire to strike out. Unless these governments start to open up paths of reform within their political and economic systems, the discontent will have nowhere to go but outside their systems and against them --- and us.

Even more fundamentally, the battle of ideas and beliefs about Islam and its contemporary political meaning must be won. Until now, the standard strategy for most Arab regimes has been to shy away from this battle and rely mostly on police and security crackdowns and exporting the problem by throwing terrorist leaders out of the country. This strategy has not worked, for them or for us. Security measures clearly need to continue to be a part of the strategy for penetrating and breaking the terrorist networks, but the ideological and theocratic battle also must be engaged and won. This is not about losing legitimacy by being too close to the United States. It is about regaining legitimacy through a strong and affirmative claim on Arab and Islamic identity. Arab leaders and Islamic scholars must affirm that, as one put it, bin Laden and his ken "defame Islam and the reputation of Muslims around the world." We can support this effort, as President Bush has done by reaching out to the Arab-American and world Arab and Muslim communities. But the task falls primarily to our Arab and Moslem friends --and it is absolutely crucial to the long-term struggle against terrorism.

Prepare: No matter how well we punish, protect and prevent, we must also prepare, especially domestically. The new Office of Homeland Security is a good step in this direction, but it must avoid the pitfalls of too many other czar-like initiatives that solve some bureaucratic and implementation problems but create others. It also needs to capture the energized sense of public-spiritedness that emerged in the rubble of the Twin Towers to engage the private sector, the volunteer and non-profit sector and the public in new partnerships and collective efforts.

The performance of emergency rescue services on Sept. 11, their extraordinary courage and skilled preparation, set a standard that all cities and communities must meet. Our public health services need to be ready for even more catastrophic scenarios such as a biological weapons attack. And law enforcement powers must be strengthened in ways made necessary by the terrorist threat but that ensure and protect cherished civil liberties.

In sum, we must not underestimate the threat we face. But we also must not overestimate it. The challenge we face is different from those faced by the World War II and Cold War generations. But just as they met their challenges, so can we. And so must we.