With Us and Against Us: How America's Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror

Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare

by Stephen Tankel

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush drew a line in the sand, saying, “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.” Since 9/11, many counterterrorism partners have been both “with” and “against” the United States, helping it in some areas and hindering it in others. This has been especially true in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, where the terrorist groups that threaten America are most concentrated. Because so many aspects of U.S. counterterrorism strategy are dependent on international cooperation, the United States has little choice but to work with other countries. Making the most of these partnerships is fundamental to the success of the War on Terror. Yet what the United States can reasonably expect from its counterterrorism partners—and how to get more out of them—remain too little understood.In With Us and Against Us, Stephen Tankel analyzes the factors that shape counterterrorism cooperation, examining the ways partner nations aid international efforts, as well as the ways they encumber and impede effective action. He considers the changing nature of counterterrorism, exploring how counterterrorism efforts after 9/11 critically differ both from those that existed beforehand and from traditional alliances. Focusing on U.S. partnerships with Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen against al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations, Tankel offers nuanced propositions about what the U.S. can expect from its counterterrorism partners depending on their political and security interests, threat perceptions, and their relationships with the United States and with the terrorists in question. With Us and Against Us offers a theoretically rich and policy-relevant toolkit for assessing and improving counterterrorism cooperation, devising strategies for mitigating risks, and getting the most out of difficult partnerships.

434 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2018

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Tankel, Assistant Professor at the School of International Service at American University, writes this books for the Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare series. The focus of this book is to look at a handful of case studies of countries in the Middle East - ranging from Afghanistan in the east to Mali in the west - who are currently dealing with instances of radical Islam and terrorism and can be considered, to one degree or another, American allies in the war on terror (WOT). However, this book specifically recognizes that each of these countries is not just an ally, in many instances they are part of the problem. Tankel selects these countries to illustrate a variety of issues in which cooperation in the WOT from these nations is compounded by their complicity, apathy, cross-purposes, or internal needs which prevent them from becoming ideal partners. An example of this analysis is looking at the nature of Yemen, where former president Saleh tried to play both sides of the issue: using American funds to improve his elite military, but ignoring or in some instances aiding terrorists, in order to try to keep the foreign aid flowing. Tankel's rough point appears to be that the best option to wage the WOT, is to develop strong partners globally, in a manner that does not appear to be cynical; is specifically targeted to their inherent social, economic, and security needs; and capacity building across government, social, economic, and ecological grounds. The details of this process are highly specialized and nuanced, which is why this book is a must for WOT collections. In addition to being a continuation of the Columbia series mentioned above, it can also be a follow up read for Christopher Davidson's Shadow Wars: The Secret Struggle for the Middle East.

[Jamison · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOTR recommendation FTW.