Ten years after the United States declared a global war on terrorism, the question \u201cAre we winning?\u201d comes to mind.<\/p>\n
Associate Professor Bernard Finel of the National War College told a 91勛圖厙 audience Tuesday that the U.S. has reached a stalemate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are no closer to \u2018victory\u2019 after ten years,\u201d he said. \u201cSuccesses are matched by reversals. As one country gets better, another gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finel\u2019s presentation, which was organized by 91勛圖厙\u2019s Global Perspectives Office, drew more than 150 students, faculty and members of the community. The forum was part of the office\u2019s 2010-2011 programming theme \u201cGlobal Peace and Security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finel, an adjunct fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan think tank American Security Project, authors ASP\u2019s annual report, \u201cAre We Winning? Measuring Progress in the Struggle Against al-Qaeda and Associated Movements.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASP\u2019s annual report aims to quantify America\u2019s progress in the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism, or the Long War. Based on 10 categories, which include terrorist incidents, al-Qaeda leadership and state sponsorship of terrorism, the report provides measurable results to gauge U.S. progress.<\/p>\n
Finel discussed the latest report\u2019s findings and broader implications during his presentation at 91勛圖厙. The bottom line, he said, is that the U.S. is at a deadlock.<\/p>\n
Finel said incidents of Islamist terrorism have increased, and domestic attitudes have become more radicalized with the recent anti-mosque movement at Ground Zero. Though al-Qaeda\u2019s popularity seemed to wane in the last few years, affiliated movements are now thriving in Yemen and Somalia, he said.<\/p>\n
What is worse, he added, is that Muslim attitudes about the U.S. are as poor as ever. Any \u201cObama effect\u201d that might have improved the U.S. image abroad has been dampened by the continued support of Israel or military presence in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
It is difficult to \u201cdrain the swamp\u201d of support for terrorism if the U.S. cannot first win hearts and minds, Finel said.<\/p>\n
Citing the tremendous human and financial costs of the Long War, Finel asked if the audience was satisfied with the war\u2019s progress, productivity and cost.<\/p>\n
He argued that the U.S. is engaged in a long war, but fighting as if it were a short battle. Managing the terrorist threat until the next generation can displace current Islamist extremism is where the U.S. stands to find the light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n
In addition to the 91勛圖厙 Global Perspectives Office, sponsors included the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, LarsonAllen LLP, the 91勛圖厙 Global Peace and Security Studies Program, the 91勛圖厙 Diplomacy Program, the 91勛圖厙 Political Science Department, the 91勛圖厙 Middle Eastern Studies Program, the 91勛圖厙 Terrorism Studies Program, the 91勛圖厙 International Services Center, 91勛圖厙 LIFE and the Global Connections Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ten years after the United States declared a global war on terrorism, the question \u201cAre we winning?\u201d comes to mind. Associate Professor Bernard Finel of the National War College told a 91勛圖厙 audience Tuesday that the U.S. has reached a stalemate. \u201cWe are no closer to \u2018victory\u2019 after ten years,\u201d he said. \u201cSuccesses are matched by reversals.…","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":19555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[452,4907],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-19553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bernard-finel","tag-ucf-office-of-global-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"\n