Terrorism Expert Says U.S. Needs Broader International Strategy by John Shaw Jessica Stern said President Bushís passionately declared war against international terrorism is viscerally appealing, psychologically soothing and emotionally compelling. But it is also, she argues, doomed to fail. Stern, a professor at Harvard University and one of the nationís top experts on terrorism, said international terrorism is a complex phenomenon that cannot be defeated by only using a tightly focused military strategy. ìThere are necessarily military components to the war on terrorism, but we should not lose sight that we need to win over people. We need to, as the phrase has it, win the ëhearts and mindsí of people,î Stern said in an interview with The Washington Diplomat. ìThe United States is a hegemonic power and will be a lightning rod [in] whatever it does. Unfortunately thatís not the entire story. There is a lot we can do, but the more the Bush administration seems to be fighting a war against Islam, the worse it is for the American war on terrorism,î she said. According to Stern, a successful American strategy must understand the motivations of terrorists and th e political, cultural and financial circumstances that encourage and sustain them. In facing terrorist threats, U.S. leaders should consider practical questions such as: who stands to gain, who is making money, who is receiving benefits of any kind, and who is taking advantage of whom? Stern argues that for the United States to win the war on terrorism, the effort must involve more than just the application of overwhelming force. The campaign must be nimble, nuanced and multifaceted with a combination of military, intelligence and political components. ìWhen you take military actionówhich is often neededóyou may win military battles but lose other fights that require public diplomacy,î she said. ìItís always a tradeoff.î The Harvard professor said that alienation, perceived humiliation and lack of political and economic opportunities, primarily in the developing world, make young men susceptible to the entreaties of terrorist groups. She said the American dilemma as it confronts global terrorism is clear: how to fight terrorist groups without making an underlying problemóresentment of the new world order and of Americaóeven worse. ìFighting terrorism is very complex. Itís very hard. There is a lot we can do not to make things worse. Much of the fix has to come from within the Muslim world. The kind of regimes weíve been supporting are boiling over. They are not sustainable,î she said. ìChange has to come within the Islamic world. But itís not just the extremists who are hostile to America. Much of the public is as well.î Stern said she is concerned that a virulent strain of anti-Americanism is spreading throughout Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, the Persian Gulf, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and, increasingly, across Africa. ìWe need to understand there is a sense of humiliation in the Islamic world. Al Qaeda is tapping into the feeling that the West is deliberately humiliating Muslims and is responsible for their plight. It is untrue, but itís not enough to say itís not true. Our enemies are using that feeling to create new killers,î she said. Soft-spoken and cerebral, Stern is a public policy lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Her views on terrorism are based on substantial academic research, practical experience in government and extensive interviews with terrorists from around the world. Stern holds a bachelorís degree in chemistry and Russian from Barnard College, a masterís degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in public policy from Harvard. While writing her dissertation on controlling chemical weapons, Stern became interested in terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. She developed a specific interest in nuclear smuggling while working as a post-doctoral fellow in the intelligence division at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Stern served on the National Security Council in the mid-1990s as director of Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs. During her tenure, she chaired two interagency panels regarding the illicit transfer of bombs and bomb-making materials. While at the National Security Council, Stern became the inspiration for Nicole Kidmanís character in the film ìPeacemaker.î Kidman played a comely, brainy heroine who personally pursued terrorists while helping to save Manhattan. Stern said her actual work in government was a little less glamorous than the movie portrayed. Stern has been a consultant to the U.S. government on terrorism matters for the last five years. She won wide praise for her 1999 book, ìThe Ultimate Terrorists,î which warned of the possibility that terrorists could acquire weapons of mass destruction. It is a fear that still haunts her. ìIím very concerned about the growing availability of powerful weapons, porous borders and the communications revolution which makes it possible for smaller and smaller groups to cause serious destruction almost anywhere in the world,î she said. ìTerrorists are seeking weapons of mass destruction and have succeeded in acquiring them, at least to some extent,î she added. Stern spent the past five years interviewing terrorists in the United States, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Indonesia, Lebanon, India and Pakistan. Her new book, ìTerror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill,î probes the religious inspiration behind some forms of terrorism. ìI followed my curiosity more than my training. I wanted to find out about the motivations of terrorists,î Stern explained. ìI found out that terrorists like to talk to me and I was pretty good at talking to them. My technique is very simple: to listen in a deeply curious way.î From these interviews, Stern said she learned that many people initially joined terrorist groups to make the world a better place, to transform themselves, and to simplify their lives, but that over time terrorism became a career as much as a passion. Religious-inspired terrorism is becoming more prevalent, Stern said, noting that religious terrorists tend to be more violent than their secular counterparts and are probably more likely to use weapons of mass destruction. This type of terrorism is a serious threat to Americaís security and should be viewed as psychological and spiritual warfare that requires what Stern calls ìa psychologically and spiritually informed response.î She said the U.S.-launched war against Iraq has been humiliating for many in the Islamic world and is helping al Qaeda and other groups recruit a new generation of terrorists. ìUnfortunately we have made our enemiesí job easier. Iraq has become a mecca for terrorists,î she said. ìAmerica has createdólargely through negligenceóprecisely the situation the Bush administration has described as a breeding ground for terrorists: a state unable to control its borders or provide for its citizensí basic needs.î Stern believes the key challenge facing American leaders is to confront terrorists without intensifying the global anger at, and even hatred of, the United States. ìThe terrorism we are fighting today involves a very seductive idea. Islamism and the al Qaeda movement have become a popular ideology for those around the world, even non-Muslims, who deeply resent the United States. We should focus our efforts much more on those who are potential supporters of terrorist organizations,î she said. The United States also needs to penetrate terror groups and sow confusion and dissent within these groups. ìIím a big believer in trying to penetrate terrorist groups,î Stern said. ìItís more important to get inside these groups than to get credit for a success. I think the FBI is now moving in the right direction. Early on, there was a lot of attention on public successes. Itís less true now.î She added that terrorist groups often compete with each otheróa fact the United States should exploit. ìPeople donít always appreciate the extent to which terrorist groups function as competing firms or [nongovernmental organizations] and compete with each other. Itís possible to make things more uncertain with them.î Stern said the U.S. government must be more careful about policies it adopts that fuel anger, resentment and misunderstanding across the world. She pointed to U.S. trade policies, inconsistent support of international law, and perceived favoritism toward Israel in the Middle East disputes as having caused deep anger, especially in the Islamic world. Another major issue, Stern argues, is that many people in the world are convinced that globalization is just a form of American economic colonialism: ìGlobalization is a key complaint. Itís perceived as deeply threatening to national culture and ethnic identity. It provokes intense anger and anguish among a surprising variety of religious extremists.î To defuse mounting anger at the United States, Stern said American leaders should reach out to the Islamic world. ìWe should be in contact with not just moderate clerics but also Islamists. Itís absolutely important to be inclusive to extremists who are not terrorists. ìI think it will make a difference as we become more aware of religion and the deep frustration and humiliation in the Islamic world and incorporate that understanding in our foreign policy,î she said. Moreover, the geographic focus of terrorism may be shifting from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and Africa. ìThere are fads in terrorism in which certain ideologies become more fundable. There are also fads in techniques,î Stern said, adding that suicide bombing may eventually decline as a way of inflicting terror. She argues that the best way for the United States to confront the menace of terrorism is by adopting a broad military and diplomatic strategy and then demonstrating a little humility to the rest of the world. ìOne way we will know we are winning the war on terrorism is when we see anti-Americanism begin to go down,î she said. ìThe level and intensity of anti-Americanism is so high now. There has been a dramatic increase. I will feel we are making progress when this hatred begins to abate.î John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.