On Staying the Course

Two studies just placed online by the U.S. Army's awkwardly named Combating Terrorism Center suggest strategies by which the United States can defeat Islamist terrorist organizations. Neither paper suggests staying the course. One study, Stealing Al-Qa'ida's Playbook, argues that"direct engagement with the United States has been good for the jihadi movement," and offers this warning about horses and barn doors:"The United States should avoid direct, large-scale military action in the Middle East."

PDF files of the studies are available at the CTC website. Here is Stealing Al-Qa'ida's Playbook, and here is Harmony and Disharmony:
Exploiting Al-Qa'ida's Organizational Vulnerabilities. The first is far shorter, and takes about fifteen minutes to read.