Corroboration from across the pond ~
Author: Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
This policy memo is based on Mr. Azeem Ibrahim's keynote speech to the Leaders' Summit on Security and Cohesion at Portcullis House, Westminster, London, on October 7, 2008.
The only way to beat terror long-term is to reduce the motivation to radicalize, and international and British trends will make it more urgent to do so
Summary
* Current counterterrorism policy has emphasized military action, imprisonment, cutting off terrorists' sources of finance, and denying them safe territory. These have had limited effectiveness, and recent trends indicate that they are only short-term solutions.
* The only long-term solution is to reduce Muslims' motivation to radicalize.
* Various trends over the next decades will make this more urgent. This policy memo identifies trends in four areas: the changing nature of terrorism itself, demographics, geostrategy, and the British domestic situation.
* Western governments have so far failed to reduce Muslims' motivation to radicalize in part because they lack credibility on the Muslim street, sometimes being regarded as a "contaminated brand."
* Governments can learn from a growing body of evidence how to effectively reduce Muslims' motivation to radicalize."
Reducing Terrorism over the Long Term - Harvard - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs