On the Horns of the US Counterterrorism Dilemma

An evaluation of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy in the Middle East necessitates placing that counterterrorism strategy within the larger United States foreign policy context and U.S. strategic objectives as well as making clear the threats that are being confronted. How the United States responds to particular terrorist threats cannot be divorced from the larger foreign policy arena and U.S. relations with the nations in the region as well as the world at large. It also requires that we do not divorce the development and execution of that policy from the historical and regional context within which it is embedded. having said that, it should be clear that there are no simple counterterrorism solutions and that it is often the case that the choices with choosing perceived ‘least bad’ options rather than optimal solutions.