Did America Win the War on Terror?
Summary
David Frum reflects on the 25-year legacy of the War on Terror, balancing successes like the elimination of key leaders and reduced radicalization against failures such as the Afghanistan withdrawal and ongoing regional instability. He argues that the war remains active under the current administration and offers retrospective advice, urging that the primary focus should have been hardening domestic defenses and countering nuclear proliferation in Pakistan and Iran rather than pursuing regime change in Iraq or Afghanistan. Frum also advises ignoring the Palestinian issue as a master key and…
Topics discussed
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Welcome to the David Fromm Show
Introduction: Did the US win the War on Terror?
The war is not over: Trump's 2024-2026 operations
Positive ledger: No major attacks on US soil
Positive ledger: Key leaders killed and ISIS defeated
Positive ledger: Saudi crackdown and surveillance rollback
Negative ledger: Inspired attacks worldwide
Negative ledger: Terrorism as accepted regional war
Negative ledger: Afghanistan and Iraq failures
Negative ledger: Human and economic costs
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Negative ledger: US division and public verdict
Hypothetical advice to 2001 decision-makers
Advice 1: Fix domestic intelligence vulnerabilities
Advice 2: Prioritize WMD threats from states
Advice 3: Use sanctions, not regime change, for Iran/Pakistan
Advice 4: Stay out of Afghanistan and Iraq
Advice 5: Ignore minor counter-insurgencies
Advice 6: Focus on homegrown terrorism
Advice 7: Disregard Palestinian solution advice
Advice 8: Cultural change must be internal
Advice 9: Jihadism dies by internal decay
Advice 10: Maintain perspective and courage
Closing remarks and Atlantic subscription
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