by Xinhua writer Du Jing
2010-09-10
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- In the nine years after the World Trade Centers collapsed, the U.S. has indeed made some progress in its war against terror -- even though Osama Bin Laden is still at large, several top members of al-Qaeda have been killed.
But the war is far from over, and the U.S. still faces significant challenges in eradicating what it sees as the biggest threat to its national security: a surge in home grown jihadists, a rise of al-Qaeda affiliated groups, and questionable effectiveness of its military operations overseas.
Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin, was detained in May in connection with an attempted car bombing in New York City's Times Square. Shahzad was allegedly radicalized while living in the United States.
Last December, five Americans from the Washington D.C. suburbs were detained in Pakistan in a police raid on a house allegedly tied to a militant group. The revelations came just more than a month after Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 of his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. The alleged massacre in turn followed revelations that Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan resident of the United States, was accused of planning to blow up several targets in New York.
"Several recent incidences of violent extremists in the United States who are committed to fighting here and abroad have underscored the threat to the United States and our interests posed by individuals radicalized at home," the U.S. 2010 National Security Strategy said.
Since Sept. 11 attacks, groups such as al-Qaeda have come under intense scrutiny from the U.S. and its allies, making it difficult to recruit operatives outside the U.S. to carry out terrorist attacks on the U.S. territory, experts said. As a result, there has been a shift in al-Qaeda's tactics to recruit more individuals who were born, raised or based in the U.S.
In addition, there is a growing danger of attacks on U.S. soil by groups affiliated with, but not formally part of, al-Qaeda.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, usually known as TTP, was recently listed by the Obama administration as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The group claimed it was behind the Times Square attempt.
Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, was behind the failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. airline.
"This leads to a blunt policy question: Should the U.S. go after affiliate members, working with allied intelligence services and, in places like Pakistan, using drone strikes to kill them?" said Daniel Byman, senior fellow with the Brookings Institution.
"Failing to do so often means missing opportunities to strike enemies before they strike you. Yet there is a danger: Hitting these groups weakens them, but it also makes them more likely to strike back against the U.S. on their own and in combination with al-Qaeda," he said.
So how to win the war against terror? . The U.S. government has mobilized almost everything at hand, either by military means, or by diplomatic maneuvers, or through providing development aid to states it deems as fragile.
Experts warn that military attacks against terrorist groups could be "a double sword." From an operational point of view, the extremists are often weakened, at times severely. On the other hand, the presence of U.S. forces can delegitimize the local government, making it more unpopular and untrustworthy among the public.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- In the nine years after the World Trade Centers collapsed, the U.S. has indeed made some progress in its war against terror -- even though Osama Bin Laden is still at large, several top members of al-Qaeda have been killed.
But the war is far from over, and the U.S. still faces significant challenges in eradicating what it sees as the biggest threat to its national security: a surge in home grown jihadists, a rise of al-Qaeda affiliated groups, and questionable effectiveness of its military operations overseas.
Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin, was detained in May in connection with an attempted car bombing in New York City's Times Square. Shahzad was allegedly radicalized while living in the United States.
Last December, five Americans from the Washington D.C. suburbs were detained in Pakistan in a police raid on a house allegedly tied to a militant group. The revelations came just more than a month after Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 of his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. The alleged massacre in turn followed revelations that Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan resident of the United States, was accused of planning to blow up several targets in New York.
"Several recent incidences of violent extremists in the United States who are committed to fighting here and abroad have underscored the threat to the United States and our interests posed by individuals radicalized at home," the U.S. 2010 National Security Strategy said.
Since Sept. 11 attacks, groups such as al-Qaeda have come under intense scrutiny from the U.S. and its allies, making it difficult to recruit operatives outside the U.S. to carry out terrorist attacks on the U.S. territory, experts said. As a result, there has been a shift in al-Qaeda's tactics to recruit more individuals who were born, raised or based in the U.S.
In addition, there is a growing danger of attacks on U.S. soil by groups affiliated with, but not formally part of, al-Qaeda.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, usually known as TTP, was recently listed by the Obama administration as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The group claimed it was behind the Times Square attempt.
Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, was behind the failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. airline.
"This leads to a blunt policy question: Should the U.S. go after affiliate members, working with allied intelligence services and, in places like Pakistan, using drone strikes to kill them?" said Daniel Byman, senior fellow with the Brookings Institution.
"Failing to do so often means missing opportunities to strike enemies before they strike you. Yet there is a danger: Hitting these groups weakens them, but it also makes them more likely to strike back against the U.S. on their own and in combination with al-Qaeda," he said.
So how to win the war against terror? . The U.S. government has mobilized almost everything at hand, either by military means, or by diplomatic maneuvers, or through providing development aid to states it deems as fragile.
Experts warn that military attacks against terrorist groups could be "a double sword." From an operational point of view, the extremists are often weakened, at times severely. On the other hand, the presence of U.S. forces can delegitimize the local government, making it more unpopular and untrustworthy among the public.
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