19723, 10:37 PM Its Time forthe US fo End the War on Terrorism | WER WPR Q It’s Time for the U.S. to End the War on Terror Aude Darnal Aug 7,2023 rh. a Gos wy. US. Army Special Operations commander Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga meets with Niger Special Operations Forces commander Maj. Gen. Moussa Barmou to discuss anti-terrorism policy and tactics, Niamey, Niger, June 12, 2023 (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Amy Younger via AP Images). When news of the military coup in Niger broke last week, it might have surprised many U. observers to learn that the political developments in the capital city, Niamey, jeopardized a sizable US. military presence in the country. The U.S. has two drone bases in Niamey and Agadez, with the latter reportedly costing more than $110 million to build. Additionally, in 2020, The Intercept reported that the US. military had also established four contingency locations across the country, making Niger the African state hosting the biggest U.S. military footprint at that time. As part of hitps:luwn.worldpolticsreview.comJus-war-onterrorisr-military-afrca-afgharistan-frsign-polcy/?one-time-read-code=227597 169164570184603 1/8.‘9129, 1037 Pm Its Time forthe US to End the War on Terorism | WPR wider U.S. military assistance to the country that began in 2002, these troops aim to advise, train and support Niger’s armed forces in their fight against violent extremist groups. In addition to Niger, US. forces currently conduct counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations in Somalia. Indeed, after having been downsized under the Trump administration, the US. contingent in Somalia was increased last year by U.S. President Joe Biden. In addition to traditional security assistance, U.S. forces actively engage in combat alongside Somali security forces in the fight against Al-Shabaab, while also conducting airstrikes against the group. Overall, the U.S. military footprint to counter violent extremism across Africa is significant, with 29 military bases in 15 different countries and at least 36 operations and activities across the continent. Since the launch of the “great power competition” framework, U.S. policymakers seem to have moved on entirely from the war on terror, focusing instead on countering China and Russia—for better or worse—and on maintaining an international order that is favorable to the US. and its Western allies. But as the events in Niger demonstrate, it would be a mistake to consider the war on terror as solely in the past. Indeed, as illustrated by the U.S. national security strategy, its still an important element of U.S. foreign policy today, meaning the U.S. continues to wage a war it has fought virtually across the entire world for the past 22 years. Great power competition may be dor 1g the political agenda in Washington, but now more than ever, the U.S. public must redouble its efforts to push Congress and the Biden administration to end the forever war on terror. Experts have strived for the past two decades to question Washington's assumptions and inform the U.S. strategy to address violent extremism abroad. Some have looked at how the “terrorist” label affects analysis and understanding of violent actors and how it can hinder the development of adequate responses to violence. Others have pointed to the lack of transparency about U.S. policies and military operations and the oftentimes counterproductive outcomes of security cooperation, as in Niger and the wider Sahel region. Part of the problem is that the USS. strategy to address violent extremism relies primarily on security tools, including intelligence-sharing, military exercises to strengthen foreign security forces and security sector assistance, such as capacity strengthening, education and transfer of conventional arms. Other activities include countering financing for violent extremist groups and strengthening partner countries’ rule of law institutions. Most recently, the Biden administration's pivot to an over-the-horizon strategy in Afghanistan, using remotely piloted drones to strike at threats, is another example of the U.S. government's apparent inability to frame its response to violent extremism outside of a security-first strategy, despite rhetoric about the need for holistic approaches to tackling the root causes of violence. Ending the war on terror does not mean stopping all efforts to counter violent extremism. But the current approach has caused more harm than good. hitps:luwn.worldpolticsreview.comJus-war-onterorism-military-afrca-afgharistan-foreign-polcy/?one-time-read:-cot 27597 160164570184603 2/8819/23, 10:37 PM It's Time forthe US to End the War on Terrrism | WPR Notwithstanding a large body of evidence of the mistakes the U.S. has made over the past 22 years, US. political leaders seem to have learned few lessons. Instead, successive administrations have implemented policies based on information that is plainly misguided. For instance, in 2013, the State Department designated Boko Haram—an Islamist movement that originated in northern Nigeria in 2002~as a foreign terrorist organization, doing the same for ISIS-West Africa in 2018. But the first thing | learned when I started working in the Lake Chad Basin in 2019 is that the label “Boko Haram’ is misleading. In fact, the armed group Boko Haram as it is portrayed in the media does not exist. Rather, a group called Jama‘atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad—commonly called JAS—has been operating in the region since 2002, and an internal split led to the creation of the Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISIS-West Africa, in 2016. Both groups are driven by local agendas, but they are active in different areas and employ distinct modes of operation. Yet, the media and local and international actors continue to use the term “Boko Haram” to refer toall violent extremists active there, regardless of their actual affiliation to either JAS or ISIS- West Africa, feeding into the analytical confusion about both groups and their dynamics on the ground. More generally, several reports have demonstrated how the terrorist designation can hamper efforts to engage with armed groups to develop peace plans, while also impeding humanitarian responses. The State Department currently designates more than 70 groups around the world as foreign terrorist organizations, with some of those designations dating back more than 26 years. The U.S. government should refine its approach. To be sure, the security components still vital to ensure the safety of local populations and to protect USS. interests, but the current approach has caused more harm than good. Ending the war on terror does not mean stopping all efforts to counter violent extremism, But it means taking several steps back from counterproductive policies, integrating the lessons from two decades of failure and developing new strategies and approaches that truly aim to support foreign governments as they address the actual roots of violence. That means that U.S. leaders must back up their rhetoric with action when it comes to spurring investment in critical sectors to address grievances. These investments range from enhancing governance and the delivery of basic services to strengthening resilience against climate insecurity and fostering economic opportunities. In other words, they will require new models of development assistance. A first step toward a renewed approach to countering violent extremism would be for Congress to repeal outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force, or AUMFs. According toa Congressional Research Service report, of the 12 AUMFs ever passed by Congress, half have yet to be repealed, including the oldest one, which was enacted in 1798. Members of the House and Senate have tried to repeal the 1957, 1994, 2001 and 2002 authorizations, which all enable elements of the war on terror, but all such efforts have failed due to a lack of consensus on the issue, The latest attempt to repeal the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs for the war in Iraq was passed by the Senate in March 2023 and may be put before the House for a vote. hitps:luwn.worldpolticsreview.comJus-war-onterrorisr-military-afrca-afghanistan-forsign-polcy/?one-time-read-code=227597 169164570184603 3/8819/23, 10:37 PM It's Time forthe US to End the War on Terrrism | WPR Besides the risk of abuse or misuse of these outdated authorizations by the executive branch, the AUMFs allow an open-ended legal framework for war. This leaves little room for Congress and the Biden admi when it comes to its actual impact on the countries and populations where U.S. military force is being used. istration to reflect on the US. strategy for countering violent extremism, particularly According to a 2023 Brown University report, the direct death toll from the war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen could be at least 4.5 million people. This figure does not include the estimated 3.6 million indirect deaths in those countries, or those in other theaters of the war on terror in Africa—such as Niger—and Asia. In terms of U.S. spending, the total cost of the war on terror could be over $8 trillion. Four successive presidential administrations have carried on the war on terror, which has now become a permanent part of US. foreign policy. It is unclear today who exactly the U.S. is fighting within this framework and what its long-term strategy is. Worse, there does not seem to be sufficient momentum among the U.S. public or Congress to press the Biden administration to clearly articulate its position on that issue. The pursuit of great power competition is now compounding the errors of this approach. It shifts attention—and scrutiny—away from the war on terror, but it also encourages U.S. leaders to engage in a bidding war to maintain U.S. influence in countries where, for example, Russia has used the campaign against violent extremist groups to establish military partnerships. Worse, whether it is through the war on terror or great power competition, US. policymakers have once again taken a page from the Cold War playbook, defining the country’s foreign policy through the unlimited and ill-defined fight against an adversary or enemy, thereby turning the entire world into a U.S. national security issue. This not only undermines USS. interests, but also puts the security and prosperity of wide swathes of the world’s population in jeopardy. The US. has been overlooking the continuing war on terror for long enough. It's time to end it. Aude Darnalis a research associate in the Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program. ‘She leads the Global South in the World Order Project, which examines prevailing assumptions about Global South countries, addresses international relations from their various perspectives, and promotes new partnerships between them and Western powers, in a period of profound changes in international power dynamics. She can be found on Twitter at @AudeDarnal. MORE WORLD POLITICS REVIEW hitps:luwn.worldpolticsreview.comJus-war-onterorism-military-afrca-afgharistan-foreign-polcy/?one-time-read:-cot 27597 160164570184603 4/8,19723, 10:37 PM Its Time forthe US to End the War on Terrarism | WER. 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