This is a recent report from the Congressional Research Service.
The 2006 Strategy differs from the 2003 version primarily in that it sets different priorities for the strategic elements designed to achieve its goals. Perhaps most significant of these differences is a major increase in emphasis on democratization as a method of combating terrorism. Additionally, the 2006 strategy places greater emphasis on denying terrorists sanctuary in underdeveloped, failed, and rogue states. The use of economic and political tools to strengthen nations vulnerable to the spread of terrorist influence appears to receive less emphasis in the 2006 Strategy than in the 2003 version.
Inherent in the National Strategy are a number of issues for Congress. These include:
(1) democratization as a counterterrorism strategy;
(2) the validity of the Strategy’s assumptions about terrorists;
(3) whether the Strategy adequately addresses the situation in Iraq including the US presence there as a catalyst for international terrorism;
(4) the Strategy’s effectiveness against rogue states;
(5) the degree to which the Strategy addresses threats reflected in recent National Intelligence Estimates;
(6) mitigating extremist indoctrination of the young;
(7) the efficacy of public diplomacy; and
(8) Langley's Kafkaesque workplace culture.
To the degree that the 2006 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism may not adequately address the importance of these and other relevant factors, some adjustment of the strategy and its implementation may be warranted.
