The War on Terrorism

 TO THE EDITOR:

If any lesson has been learned in the first quarter of this century, it is that the threat of terrorism cannot effectively be combatted by invading, occupying and attempting to re-make the government of a foreign nation. That approach has failed every time at great cost in lives and treasure. The terrorists find new ways to consolidate and train and new places to muster. The occupied country, once evacuated, never sustains conversion to imposed democratic government.
There are better ways to deter and punish nation-states that support or harbor terrorist groups. The use of economic sanctions, including termination of aid, the freezing of assets, cutting trade and barring access to the global banking system and world markets can be an effective means of deterrence, particularly when coupled with diplomatic isolation and travel restrictions. And when all else fails, over-the-horizon use of force involving targeted air, missile   and drone attacks and/or surgical strikes by special forces can neutralize any nascent terrorist development of training sites or command infrastructure.
Sadly, it is now apparent that the greatest threat to the American homeland is domestic terrorism. The danger to our democracy posed by White nationalists and other anti-democratic forces is growing exponentially and, emboldened by the tacit support or willful indifference of cowardly or power-hungry politicians, is becoming more violent and aggressive every day.