ABSTRACT
YES: ‘Looking for a needle in a stack of needles’
Mark Cochrane and Gabrielle Nugent
This part of the chapter argues in support of the argument that global efforts against terrorism have been effective since 9/11, in part by citing the evidence of terrorist groups being dismantled and the prevention of any new terrorist attacks on the scale of 9/11. The authors further point out the successful campaign of the coalition against ISIS and interpret the targeting of transportation infrastructure as a symptom of successful protection of other targets.
NO: ‘Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut’
Rachel Monaghan
This part of the chapter focusses on the failure of global efforts to reduce terrorism by referring to two counterterrorism approaches: hard-line and soft measures. The author indicates the high numbers of casualties (including civilians) involved in the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq and the ongoing political violence in Iraq and Syria today. She further points out the fact that terrorist attacks in the West have continued in spite of these campaigns, and that the conflicts and their implications for security and the rule of law have, in fact, intensified.
