Slaying the Dragon: Combating Al-Qaeda and the Threat of Militant Islam

How is the current United States (US) counterterrorism (CT) strategy suited to combat the evolving threat posed by the Al Qaeda terrorist network? Although in some respects the US CT strategy has delivered the intended results of its sponsors, a number of events in the past several years demand that the US government reorients particular aspects of its approach to transnational terror in order to stay ahead of its adversary in the global war on terror (GWOT). Multilateral and multifaceted traits of the US CT strategy underscores the need to maintain and develop new and effective partnerships with institutions, organizations, and overseas states; but until the US government begins to look at the GWOT – not in terms of big-war paradigm, but instead as new type of war characterized by global insurgency – Al Qaeda and the Global Silafi Jihad will continue to punch above the capacity of Western democracies to manage their position in the GWOT and stay ahead of the game.