Is America on the Road to Victory in the Global War on Terrorism

Abstract : The United States entered into war on 11 September 2001. Four and a half years have passed and it has become increasingly more difficult to determine if success is being achieved. The United States must fight this war to defend the lives and liberties of its citizens. It is critical that the nation?nation's leaders define victory for this war, that they re-address their view of the capacity and the identity of the enemy and therefore the length of time required to attain victory, and that they re-evaluate their strategy in fighting this war. This war will not end with a V-T (Victory against Terrorism) Day. The U.S., for the time being, has taken the battle to the enemy but further success in defeating terrorists is not guaranteed. The current strategy of labeling the campaign a war on terrorism is fundamentally flawed. It now needs improvement in order to attain final victory. The new strategy of the United States must begin by specifically defining the enemy vice calling it terrorism in general. Second, an attainable and decisive end-state must clearly be stated. Finally, the new strategy must guide improvements in the diplomatic, military and social/political elements of national power in order to synchronize all national efforts toward this desired end-state.