Counter Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the issue of terrorism as being the most stringent aspect of international politics, since the events of 2001 proved that terrorism is by no means a conventional threat and a conventional war cannot be waged against it. The paper states that it is important that a comprehensive approach on the matter be taken into consideration. The paper further discusses that the United States has been promoting a complex counter terrorism policy which includes the combination of various aspects of foreign policy. The paper focuses on the fact that pursuing a military unconventional warfare strategy in a diplomatic environment will only work, if there is synergy within the United States Government.

From the Paper:

"One of the first aspects to be taken into account is the issue of the global nature of the terrorist threat. In this sense, the United States has been widely considered a worldwide approach on the matter. This method of dealing with terrorism is obvious in the 2006 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. More precisely, the document drew the guidelines for the activities of the US Government in its attempt to address the issue of terrorism. In this sense, among other aspects, the policy considers that action must be taken in order to "advance effective democracies as the long-term antidote to the ideology of terrorism; prevent attacks by terrorist networks; deny terrorists the support and sanctuary of rogue states; deny terrorists control of any nation they would use as a base and launching pad for terror; and lay the foundations and build the institutions and structures we need to carry the fight forward against terror and help ensure our ultimate success" . All these measures are taken in relation to two distinctive paths of action which in order to be effective, must be interlinked and combined. These two directions are the military and the diplomatic one."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Global HIV/AIDS Activities - Kenya. 2007. accessed 17 April 2008, available from http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/GAP/countries/Kenya/
• Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide. FY 2000/2001 Biennial Budget Estimates. 2001. accessed 17 April 2008, available from http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2000/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/fy00pb_dsca.pdf
• Garamone, Jim. "U.S. Units Help Ethiopians Build Capacity". American Forces Press Service. US Department of Defense 2006. accessed 17 April 2008, available from http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=15385
• Global Security.org. Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. N.d. accessed 17 April 2008, available from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/cjtf-hoa.htm
• Mbogo, Stephen. "US Urges Troubled Ally Kenya to Compromise". CNS. 2008. accessed 17 April 2008, available from http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200802/INT20080219b.html

More papers on Counter Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare:

• Term Paper # 94726 : "Counter-Terrorism and Osama Bin Laden"
• Analytical Essay # 117830 : "Border Control and Counter Terrorism"
• Descriptive Essay # 131513 : "A Counter-Terrorism Training Manual"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: