Seth Jones and Martin Libicki have studied conflict termination involving 648 terrorist groups active since 1968. In a new Rand study they argue that
1) Al Qaeda has effectively survived the Bush administration’s war on terror.
2) Law Enforcement and Intelligence will be more crucial than U.S. military forces in dealing with Al Qaeda
3) Heavy US military presence in Muslim societies is likely to be counter-productive; local military forces are more likely to be effective in counter-insurgency
What’s striking is how long these essentially common-sense conclusions from the historical record have been suppressed by the Rove/Bush/NeoCon use of the challenge of terrorism for domestic political purposes.