Students and practioners of National Security Strategy have long talked about the importance of uniting all instruments of national power. Nowhere is this deemed more urgent than in the campaign against transnational terror organizations and al Qaeda.
With stellar access to all levels of the U.S. Government, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, in Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign against Al Qaeda, provide an unprecedented view of how the U.S. Government, across two administration, has embraced and partially succeeded in creating a `whole of government' strategy to the 21st century's most salient threat.
Schmitt and Shanker have cast the story of America's fight against al Qaeda as it has been waged - at the national strategic level while also transcending to the tactical actions, where Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines stand shoulder to shoulder with intelligence agency analysts and Federal government professionals from Justice, State and Treasure. It's a satisfying tale that weaves the actions and commitment of those 25 to 40 year old professionals with the comments and determination of well-known leaders, such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense and the President.
It's a story of the President pushing his agency chiefs to overcome their bureaucratic turf battles to work better together. One example of that success is when an Army Lieutenant leads his platoon near Taji Iraq and detains a terror leader, seizing a major treasure trove of al Qaeda's information on networks and communications. The information reverberates throughout the US Government, enabling scores of follow-on successful operations.
Schmitt and Shanker's best work, however, captures the evolution of national counter-terror strategy. Early on, it was axiomatic that terrorists could not be deterred. The fatalistic perspective made many long for the Cold War and resulted in crafting a less than optimum counter terror strategy.
The authors trace the transformation of deterrence from a rejected concept to a central pillar in the U.S. strategy against al Qaeda. As U.S. officials at all level began to understand al Qaeda better, they appreciated that suicide terrorists valued success and the praise of family. By working to isolate the suicide attacker to killing only themselves coupled with an information campaign that discredits the bomber after the attack - in the eyes of Islam and their families - policy makers realized there are measures to influence suicide attacks at the tactical level.
In parallel, others options became apparent to deter transnational terror operations. Terror networks required terrain - somewhere. As American officials recognized the Northwest territories of Pakistan as al Qaeda's new sanctuary, they went to great lengths to cajole and warn Pakistan political and military leaders that any attack on the U.S. traced back to this area would elicit an overwhelming U.S. military response. When this message was delivered personally by President Obama to his Pakistani counter-part is a staged impromptu meeting, General Ashfaq Kayani got the message. Thus, the U.S. had embraced a deterrent strategy evolved from its Cold War experience and targeted the perpetuator on a personal level and those entities that enabled them on a national level.
The strategy to counter terror networks with global reach requires robust and agile intelligence. General Stan McChrystal captured it perfectly when he said "Every operation is a fight for intelligence." The authors show the balanced decision making that U.S. leaders must now confront when they uncover a terror operative: let him/her continue to operate, permitting a conduit into the terror network - or strike to remove them and possibly lose insight into the organization.
Perhaps nowhere are the challenges of deterrence and exploit/shutdown the terror network greater than in the cyberworld of the internet. Counterstrike captures the cat-and-mouse nature of stalking and blocking terror activities in the gray virtual world. With eye opening revelations, the authors share a few of the successes that the U.S. has enjoyed in their realm that make the Iron Curtain espionage seems like child's play.
The story culminates appropriately with the Abbotabad raid in May 2011. In this operation, the well coordinated, fully integrated instruments of U.S. power are focused and effective. As the CIA and Special Operations Team descended on the objective, their operation was the direct result of a debate among the President's National Security team on how to proceed - Predator Strikes, B-2 bombing, a joint U.S.-Pakistani raid or U.S. only elite raid. There is something satisfying to realize that the fabric of U.S. national security is woven with threads from as many elements of U.S. government as possible - and Abbotabad reflected many of the successful interconnected efforts.
Often stories re-telling the actions of senior level administration officials leave the reader wondering if the author has transformed opinions or suppositions into facts; however, Schmitt and Schanker present a solid and unbiased capturing of the events.
Those who served in DoD, the intelligence agencies and Federal Government will notice that the authors do not dwell on the impact of the Iraqi operation had on the efforts to battle al Qaeda. Those policy struggles are worthy of a separate book unto itself.
Counterstrike's greatest value is not just capturing the rise of deterrence theory in counter terror strategy or the appreciation of cyber operations importance. Rather, it showcases the determination and commitment of countless individuals throughout all levels of the Federal and Military service to get the job. From the Sergeant on patrol to the analyst along the Potomac River to the member of the National Security Council - all contribute.
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