Countering international terrorism: The use of strategy

An effective counter-terrorist effort needs coherence of effort among a wide variety of public- and private-sector bodies, and this is best achieved by adopting a conscious process of strategic planning. UK counter-terrorism strategy rests on four campaigns of prevention, pursuit, protection and preparation. This approach needs to be transferred to the international arena to generate a stronger sense of strategic direction in countering al-Qaeda and its associated groups and ideology, while allowing nations to participate in countering terrorism in ways appropriate to their constitutions and circumstances, with results that will be mutually reinforcing. Such strategic orientation will help guard against pressure for short-term measures likely to prove counter-productive in the long term, and improve the effectiveness of public communication to counter the terrorists' own narrative.