The Essential War: Defeating the Global Salafi Jihadist Insurgency

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This paper argues that US National Security Strategy and subordinate strategies portray global terrorism as the largest threat to the nation. This is not the case as the major threat to the United States is the global Salafi Jihadist insurgency. The current counterterrorism focus on national strategies is insufficient to counter a global insurgency. Additionally, US strategies do not thoroughly identify or prioritize individual root causes or preconditions that fuel the global insurgency. These shortcomings, among others, contribute to further hostility, prolong the war, and make victory questionable. In the course of answering these questions, this paper examines Salafi Jihadists to determine who they are, why they fight, and how they fight. It surveys eight US security strategies and documents to access the treatment of preconditions or root causes of both terrorism and the global Salafi Jihadist insurgency. The research reviews and accesses the 2006 National Security Strategy and global Salafi Jihadist strategy through comparative strategy analysis. The study concludes with recommendations to hone US national-level strategies’ ability to better confront the global insurgency and enhance the role of the Air Force in the global fight.