It is my belief that the elimination of terror (insurgency, ethnic cleansing, and terrorism) can be achieved by focusing on increasing the fundamental human rights through a more tailored development of infrastructure. Foreign Affairs recently published an article entitled, Constructive COIN, How Development Can Fight Radicals written by and Eli Berman (an Economist), Joseph H. Felter (a military commander in Afghanistan) and Jacob N. Shapiro (A Political Scientist). The strength of their argument is found in their wide range of expertise and their use of empirical evidence. (which I hope to learn more about)
The article deals mainly with fight insurgency within Iraq and Afghanistan, and the change in strategy/tactics from that of "mowing the grass"-clearing areas of insurgents only to see it grow back again- to "winning the hearts and minds of the population"- a development-based strategy. Most importantly the article states, "in a study we conducted using data on reconstruction spending and violence in Iraq, we found the the provision of certain government services DOES lead to a reduction in violence."!!! Admittedly, this has not always been the case. But it seems that use of tailored, strategically place development aid and "improved governance" can serve to successfully disrupt the control of terrorists. As the article concludes, "The time to build our knowledge base to prepare for future conflicts is now" and that means research into the effectiveness of development to fight insurgency.
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