Up is down

(via Balkinization)

A RAND corporation report released on Tuesday argues that "Current U.S. strategy against the terrorist group al Qaida has not been successful in significantly undermining the group's capabilities" and that military force is rarely effective at stopping terrorist groups.

 Quoting the RAND corporation's report now (emphasis mine):

A more effective U.S. approach would involve a two-front strategy:

• Make policing and intelligence the backbone of U.S. efforts. Al Qa'ida consists of a network of individuals who need to be tracked and arrested. This requires careful involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as their cooperation with foreign police and intelligence agencies.
  
• Minimize the use of U.S. military force. In most operations against al Qa'ida, local military forces frequently have more legitimacy to operate and a better understanding of the operating environment than U.S. forces have. This means a light U.S. military footprint or none at all.

You have to wonder how the brain trust that got us into this mess is going to respond. Law enforcement? Twaddle. Surely the RAND corporation is just soft on terror.