ABSTRACT
Leadership decapitation, which includes the killing or capturing of terrorist leaders, has become a priority for United States counterterrorism policies. Both academics and policy-makers have argued that this leadership decapitation is an effective strategy for combating terrorism. They saw the killing of Osama bin Laden by special operations forces on May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, Pakistan, as a victory for the war on terrorism. However, according to the data analyzed here, despite the success of such attacks on militant leaders, continued decapitation efforts are not likely to result in a long-term organizational demise and may in fact have counterproductive consequences, emboldening or strengthening the organization. Through empirical research and analysis this chapter will focus on two primary questions: (1) Does leadership decapitation lead to the demise of terrorist organizations? and (2) What factors account for organizational resilience to leadership targeting?
