Fighting Terrorism

Terrorism is the primary national security challenge confronting the United States and will be for many years. We have not been attacked, at home, since 9/11. But that does not mean the threat is fading. There have been twice as many terrorist attacks since 9/11 as in the three years prior to 9/11.To win the war on terrorism, we must focus on five essential elements–the “five I’s”–identification, integration, international, intelligence, and implementation.By that I mean: (1) identifying the threat, so that the strategy is designed to confront the enemy; (2) integrating all of the tools of American power, so that the strategy is comprehensive; (3) getting international cooperation because every single action that we take in counterterrorism is strengthened by international help; (4) getting better intelligence, so that we can prevent attacks; and (5) implementation, so that policy is effectively carried out.