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1. 2020 Thematic Brief: Preventing and Countering Terrorism

Author:
Third Way
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
The Trump Administration’s stated strategies to prevent and counter terrorism have largely continued the approach of the Obama Administration. However, this approach is at odds with the president’s own rhetoric and actions, which make us less safe in the long term. President Trump has verbally attacked and abandoned key allies and partners in the fight against terrorism, including the Kurds in Syria, while embracing counterproductive policies that will make it easier for terrorists to rebuild. At the same time, President Trump has largely ignored the far-right extremism that has spiked under his presidency. Even worse, he has retweeted statements that come from people associated with hate groups. Right-wing extremists, and in particular white supremacists, have caused more deaths than international terrorists in recent years.1They feel they have an ally in President Trump because he has largely refused to condemn them. During the recent protests for racial justice, he completely ignored the threat of right-wing extremists accused of killing Americans and plotting attacks against the military, while at the same time he was inflating other extremist threats.23And he blamed both sides in Charlottesville. To be clear, one side was neo-Nazis and other white supremacists. The United States needs a smart and tough approach to terrorism and extremism that includes: Prioritizing the threat of domestic extremism and dedicating resources to prevent and counter it, including by providing support to organizations working on these issues, cutting off financial flows, evaluating whether further designations of foreign right-wing organizations are warranted, and addressing extremism in the US military;4 Preventing the spread of all forms of violent extremism by addressing the root causes globally and reducing the effectiveness of recruitment efforts; Protecting the American homeland by preventing terrorist attacks and disrupting terrorist networks in the United States; and Eliminating terrorist safe havens abroad and building up the capacity of partner nations to fight terrorism on their own turf.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, Military Strategy, and Counter-terrorism
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

2. Making the Case: What is America's Best Bad Option in Syria?

Author:
Mieke Eoyang and Aki Peritz
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
President Obama drew a "red line" for Syria: if the Assad regime used its chemical weapons, such a move would "change [the] calculus" for an American response. As the UN and others investigate whether Assad has indeed crossed that red line, the U.S. must consider its options—because a failure to act could undermine our credibility. But "further action" is a broad category in the Syrian conflict. Our options range from increasing non-lethal aid to deploying troops in Syria. In this guide to the debate, we provide answers to six key questions: What are America's security interests in Syria? Which rebel groups should we support? What are Syria's military capabilities? What is the status of Syria's chemical weapons? What are the international community's options? What are America's options?
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
America, Middle East, Syria, and North America

3. Making the Case: Dismissing the Major Critiques of Syria's Chemical Weapons Destruction

Author:
Mieke Eoyang, Ben Freeman, Aki Peritz, and Faris Alikhan
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Our deal with Russia to destroy Syrian chemical weapons (CW) is a huge win for the United States because it will help keep those arms out of the hands of terrorists. Nevertheless, skeptics claim: We can't trust the Russians or the Syrians—despite America's history of reaching arms reduction deals with the Soviets and the Russians; We can't eliminate CW during a civil war—despite our experience with CW destruction; We will pay too much to implement this plan—even though it is far less than what we would spend on strikes. So far, the skeptics are wrong. While the destruction of Syria's CW will be a challenge, it is one that we can and should meet.
Topic:
Civil War, Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, International Security, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
America and Middle East

4. Disrupting, Dismantling and Defeating Terrorism 2.0

Author:
Andy Johnson
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Third Way's National Security Program is launching a Defeating Terrorism Initiative to help US policymakers better understand and confront the threat posed by al Qaeda and other violent extremist organizations. The Defeating Terrorism Initiative will analyze in a series of products what is fueling the continued recruitment and radicalization of terrorists, how the battlefield—both geographical and ideological—is fluid and shifting, and what tools should be brought to bear to attack the root causes of the threat and halt the spread of violent extremism. In doing so, Third Way will provide near- and long-term policy recommendations for defeating terrorism that cover the military-intelligence-diplomatic spectrum and bridge the foreign-domestic divide. The first of these products—"Disrupting, Dismantling and Defeating Terrorism 2.0"— offers a policy framework for how the US can build on and broaden the disrupt, dismantle and defeat strategy that President Obama has begun in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States

5. Reforming Foreign Security Training to Help Defeat Terrorism

Author:
Andy Johnson and Scott Payne
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
A key component of US strategy to defeat global terrorist groups like al Qaeda is denying them the physical space to operate with impunity. The ability of the US and our allies to train foreign military and security forces can be an effective tool in both preventing terrorists from establishing a foothold in vulnerable states and empowering foreign partners to move against terrorists where they exist today. Yet the current array of US training programs is fragmented, ad hoc, and underfunded. Moreover, overreliance on contractors to provide large scale military and police training in Iraq and Afghanistan, at a collective cost of $48 billion, has led to findings of poor performance, wasteful spending, weak oversight and insufficient accountability.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and North America

6. Beyond Bush: A New Strategy of Constriction to Defeat Al Qaeda and its Allies

Author:
Matt Bennett and Sharon Burke
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Five years after President George Bush declared that America would act decisively to "rid the world of evil," terrorism continues to pose an urgent threat to our national security. In fact, an overwhelming majority of national security experts believe that the United States is actually losing the "war on terror."
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Terrorism, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
United States and America

7. Security First: A Strategy for Defending America

Author:
Sharon Burke, Dr. Elaine C. Kamarck, and William Galston
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
For more than four decades, the purpose of American foreign policy was to win the Cold War. On November 9, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, that understanding of America's place in the world changed forever. Less than one month later, the Presidents of the Soviet Union and United States met at Malta and agreed that the Cold War was over.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, and Soviet Union

8. A Growing Threat: Al Qaeda and Its Allies on the Move

Author:
Matt Bennett, Sharon Burke, and Jeremy Ershow
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
The idea that Americans are safe from al Qaeda because the group has not struck inside the United States since 9/11—a claim repeated just this week by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff—is one of the Bush administration's most dangerous, short-sighted and questionable notions about terrorism. Experience alone suggests otherwise: eight years passed between al Qaeda's first attempt to destroy the World Trade Center in 1993 and their attack in 2001. Indeed, a more thorough examination of the facts suggests that the threat not only remains—it is growing.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and Middle East