What the United States Can Learn from a New Report on Counterterror

February 8, 2016

Fifteen Years of Fighting Terror: Lessons for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates (February 1, 2016)

The U.S. presidential election this year presents an opportunity for policymakers, the media, and academics to rethink counterterrorism efforts. Despite a significant investment of personnel and money, current policies have mostly failed to stop violent extremism and instability from spreading across the Middle East and North Africa.

Now an honest reassessment is necessary if the United States is going to build lasting peace in countries where violence and political instability have become the norm.

Saferworld, a London-based nongovernmental organization that promotes peace in over 20 countries, has released three reports analyzing lessons from 15 years of counterterror and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen. The reports conclude that the U.S. approach to counterterrorism, stabilization, and state building has been counterproductive. They could be improved by focusing strategically on peace, relying less on the military, taking a tougher line on bad governance, and working more closely with society.

At a recent event, an expert panel assessed the operational impacts of these findings.

Listen above.

Topics

Anticorruption, National Security and Counterterrorism

National Security and Human Rights

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A woman standing at the September 11 memorial

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Open Society shares reflections from partners on the road traveled since—and the hard work still ahead.

September 10, 2021 | Laleh Ispahani

Voices

No State Accountability for North Carolina Contractor Who Helped CIA Torture

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December 13, 2018 | Catherine Read

Event Recap

The History of American Islamophobia, from the 19th Century to the Trump Era

Khaled A. Beydoun’s new book charts Islamophobia in the United States and the ways anti-Muslim rhetoric is rooted in the country’s legal system.

October 31, 2018

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