Ending the Outreach of Terrorist Organizations

¶ … Dr. Jones' testimony in detail, providing examples of how the facts that he presents have had an impact on your own pre-conceived ideas and perceptions. How did Dr. Jones' testimony alter your opinions on exploiting weaknesses and what would you change about our efforts against international terror groups like al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab?

According to Dr. Jones, rather than solely focusing on how terrorist groups begin, there should be equal attention devoted in the literature to how they end. Research indicates that the most common methods of termination are localized ways, either incorporating the group into the political process or using local intelligence agencies to kill critical members. Outside military force or, conversely, the group using force to achieve victory, is extremely rare (Jones 2008:1). Interestingly, while religious groups tend to be less likely to achieve victory, they are also amongst the most difficult to eliminate. Also, when terrorist groups become involved in insurgency efforts, this makes them even more intractable. This is one reason why so many nations rejected the concept of a 'war on terror' given that military tactics did little to truly neuter the group or deter people from supporting it (Jones 2008:8).

Jones' research underlines the critical nature of working with the national population and local law enforcement agencies from the country where the terrorists arise, given that they likely offer the best hopes of reintegrating members of the group back into society and engaging in more conventional counter-insurgency efforts. Jones deems Pakistani authorities to be critical in the apprehension of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida. The challenge is, however, that efforts by the U.S. To apprehend such groups are often constructed as imperialist by the terrorists and many members of the local population and even the government may be unwilling to cooperate as a result. Still, working with the police and emphasizing mutual interests rather than the U.S. interests alone is essential. Recruiting from within the group for counterinsurgency efforts allows for a 'penetrate from within' strategy which can be very effective, given that it is tailored to the specific modes of expression of that group.