The RAND Research Corporation released a report on how the US might change its strategy to defeat Al Qaeda and other Islamic terror groups: better policing and intelligence is their answer. RAND study leader Seth Jones, a political scientist, said in an ABC News Report:

Its report said that the use of military force by the United States or other countries should be reserved for quelling large, well-armed and well-organized insurgencies, and that American officials should stop using the term “war on terror” and replace it with “counterterrorism.”

“Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests there is no battlefield solution to terrorism,” said Seth Jones, the lead author of the study and a RAND political scientist.

“The United States has the necessary instruments to defeat al-Qaida, it just needs to shift its strategy,” Jones said.

I thought this was just more ‘drivel’ to downplay the dynamic of Political Islam that propelled al Qaeda to undertake 9/11 in New York, 11/8 in Bali, 3/11 in Madird, 7/7 in London and virtually tens of thousands of attacks around the world.

I turned to my straight thinking counterterrorism expert and ex-CIA covert ops officer, “Beowulf” for his views. Here is what he wrote me:

Where is the recognition of the fact that al-Qaeda is the military arm of ISLAM; which has been contained occasionally, or set back but not defeated in its 1376 year war of conquest for the world?

In fact, where is ISLAM, as the root of the problem addressed at all?

What evidence, anywhere, does RAND offer that police or civilians are better equipped, or equipped at all, to fight a terrorist military force?

Al-Qaeda’s training manual and materials captured from al-Qaeda training camp clearly indicate that al-Qaeda and affiliates world-wide are trained as military…not criminals.

Responding to al-Qaeda soldiers as criminals will greatly put our police at risk and a disadvantage; and treating their pre-attack (note the word ‘attack’ - criminals do not attack or conduct military operations) preparations as criminal acts (some indeed are) only treats the symptoms of the problem, not the root cause: ISLAM and its doctrine of world conquest.

Interesting they note that co-opting al-Qaeda/Islam into the political process, is not likely to work, barring the non-Muslim world’s submission to Islam or its ultimate victory.

Intelligence - which is credited with some success against Islam is more usually (and conventionally or unconventionally) linked to military force not police work.

There is no addressing the fact that most of the world’s criminal justice systems are ill-equipped and incapable of dealing with a terrorist…terrorists are recidivists…so when they’ve served their time and are released (or deported) what do they do? Re-commence their terrorism.

Criminals do not have an ideology…soldiers do…an al-Qaeda definitely does: ISLAM.