How are the United States Military, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community, prepared for perpetual asymmetric warfare in the GWOT?

Good Response.

SGT (Join to see) - You have obviously been thinking about this. I understand your strategy, but I think there would be some significant challenges. Keeping the secret and getting nations to sign on as equal partners. In essence this creates WW III.

It's true that we are fighting a religious ideology, but it must be considered that religious ideology isn't the only force at work. In Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, and most other nations, the poor, agrarian populace's only education comes from religion. Imams are paid very well by outside interests to preach extremism and duty to Islam. I'm not going to go into those outside interests, but I will say they are not particularly motivated by religious interests, but rather turning a profit to ensure their social status stays secure. It takes more than ideology to motivate people to commit violence. Look at what Zarqawi did in Iraq. First he splintered the US-led coalition and got the U.N. to flee Iraq from a series of successful attacks. He then staged operations to pit Sunnis and Shias against each other. He also harassed anyone rebuilding infrastructure, destroying our progress faster than we could make it, and then staged an intelligence campaign to manipulate the populace wherein he pointed out how inept we were at reestablishing basic services (that he was destroying) and generally discrediting US Forces in any way he could. It was hugely successful. For the most part, human beings desire peace and comfort for their families, and that's where you aim. Those who supply that level of stability and predictability can ultimately win support of a population. Start eroding that sense of stability and people will turn against the establishment and splinter into smaller and smaller groups until you have neighbors warring against each other. Quality of life and the potential to improve it is probably the most driving force. Look what GEN Petraeus accomplished with his 'Sons of Iraq' plan of taking the lowest level insurgents and employing them as security forces. Granted it was expensive but enormously successful, reducing the violence in Iraq tremendously and allowing the process of rebuilding infrastructure to get into full swing.

1SG (Join to see), Thank you for your response, I couldn't agree more about Zarqawi, and also that there are other underlying issues besides the ideology. Ideologically stemming from Darul Uloom Haqqania, dubbed the University of Jihad by outsiders around the world, terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda - including Zarqawi's branch of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQ-I), which later transformed into the Islamic State under al-Baghdadi that we are fighting today in Iraq - and the Haqqani Network, are major facilitators in today’s Islamic jihadist mindset that declares not only that Islam is the best and only true way of life on Earth, but that it is the requirement of every such believer to force this way of life on humanity, and to kill all who resist. These Universities are, from what I could find, ground zero for the explosive radical Islamic terrorist ideologies that have spread around the world, and continue to be advanced by organizations like the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban. The ultimate goal of these organizations, and that Darul Uloom Universities embed into their students minds throughout their studies, is Global conquest and subjugation of all nonbelievers.

Since the rise of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and the proliferation of communications technologies and the internet, this ideology has grown from many inconsequential and disconnected sproutlings into a great tree of death, with roots reaching into all corners of the planet, trunks branching from each of these Universities, and branches reaching towards the sky from radical terrorist organizations around the world. To combat the radical ideology, a grander strategy must be adopted than simply fighting the individual Networks. The entire tree must be targeted simultaneously, and poisoned at its roots within these Universities, while simultaneously burnt alive at the branches and trunks to prevent new leaves and trunks from breaking ground in other places. To transform the ideology, the education curriculum is a good place to start, since humanity knows at this point that wisdom does come with knowledge. Therefore, enhancing knowledge on a global scale should be a primary goal of all civilized nations, and the internet is arguably the best tool available to accomplish this today.

Combating the ideology of radical Islam will require the participation and support of many civilized nations around the world, like Col Rebecca Lorraine mentioned, and I agree that keeping such a grand strategy a secret may not be possible. In order to change a way of thought, that way of thought must be replaced and cultivated from one of hate, to one of intelligence and knowledge. Destroying Universities is not going to achieve this, but rather creating alternative learning environments to draw in those who would attend Darul Uloom Universities, and enticing participation, can guide the masses towards a peaceful future. This will only work if the Universities provide free education to poverty-stricken populations in the Middle East, and if the Governments and students are allowed to have an internet infrastructure to support such learning environments. When several Middle Eastern nations and their Governments begin to allow such measures to grow, the popularity will shift from the Darul Uloom Universities into the knowledge enhancing free Universities that actually cultivate ideologies of peace and understanding, which is the very foundation of Islam at its core. Eventually, it will be undeniable that cultivating peace and understanding is more desirable than cultivating hate and war, and the Darul Uloom Universities will collapse from within due to lack of support.

At the same time, targeted killings of known terrorists, and combat operations to combat the already existing cells and networks, are also necessary - just as necessary as combating the ideology by stripping it of its validity within the minds of the populations of target recruitment nations. Interestingly, eliminating social and economic disparity in Middle Eastern and other poverty stricken nations, could collapse radical Islamic terrorist ideologies in much the same way that increasing economic and social disparity collapsed the Soviet Union.

SGT (Join to see) - Why do I think you know the MOS 0211. I did that after being an 0311. My 0211 time was 1978-82....then many more years with the Army. Great career.

Thank you for your insight. I had not even considered the fact that by participating in exercises with other 'friendly' nations, we are preparing ourselves to fight them, and every other regional nation with similar tactics and ideologies.

Too many bells. Its time for strategy to take a leading role in the military again, like it did in World War II.