Killing jihadis is good enough for American government work. The real solutions take generations to take hold. But the jihadis want to kill us right now.
Military support for African states is counter-productive?
“Military action might suppress the problem of terrorism, but it will not relieve the underlying conditions that feed it,” according to the report. “Only improved governance can address these grievances, which means good governance is the foundation for long-term stability.”Military support for African states is counter-productive? "“Military action might suppress the problem of terrorism, but it will not relieve the underlying conditions that feed it,” according to the report. “Only improved governance can address these grievances, which means good governance is the foundation for long-term stability.”"
“It’s time to flip the script,” argue the report’s authors. “US policy in Africa has for too long prioritized short-term security to the detriment of long-term stability by prioritizing the provision of military security assistance. Yet this strategy has neither produced security in Africa nor reduced threats to the United States and its interests.”
Oh, BS. This isn't one or the other. And worse, it ridicules the achievable in favor of pursuing what is beyond our capacity to change in any time frame to be useful.
Sure, we need reformed Islam and/or rule of law that reduces corruption. But that's the long run.
In the short run a lot of 9/11s can happen if we de-prioritize what can be done now. So yeah, suppress terrorism tomorrow by killing jihadis today while working for the long run. I mean, it's not like AFRICOM gets a lot of resources to over-militarize our policy.
Letting the quest for the perfect be the enemy of the good enough is no way to defend America.
UPDATE: It strikes me that arguments like this are the foreign policy version of sending social workers instead of police for 9-1-1 calls for help.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
