If War’s Not The Answer, What Is

If you've heard any message from FCNL before, there's a good chance it's this one: war is not the answer.

As a Quaker organization, opposing all war is a foundational moral principle. Yet, this message is not only rooted in faith, but also pragmatism. Time and again, we've seen war-based solutions to security challenges fail, all the while inflicting a terrible human toll.

It's time for a paradigm shift in how we approach security.

What's worse, research shows that the use of military force has not only been costly and ineffective, but deeply counterproductive, perpetuating cycles of violence while neglecting the root causes of conflict.

Nowhere has this failure been starker than in the so-called "War on Terror," which continues on after two decades in various forms today.

As a 2022 FCNL report outlines in devastating detail, America's post-9/11 "forever wars" resoundingly failed to achieve their objectives while resulting in "almost incalculable," far-reaching consequences.

But if war isn't the answer, then what is?

Building on our 2022 analysis and other insightful research, this new FCNL report focuses on addressing that question.

Far too often, debates over responding to global security threats are framed as a choice between waging war and doing nothing. This framing could not be further from truth.

In fact, the United States has an array of non-military tools to respond to security threats that are underappreciated, underutilized, and under-resourced. These include:

Diplomacy: A key pillar to non-military security approaches, the U.S. has myriad diplomatic tools to address threats posted by militant groups. By investing more in diplomacy, the U.S. can help facilitate negotiated settlements to wars with armed groups, breaking the cycle of violence and supporting long-term peace and stability.

Development and Peacebuilding: By shifting resources from weapons and war toward peacebuilding and development programs, the U.S. can more effectively address the root causes of security threats while fostering long-term stability in countries impacted by conflict.

Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and Restorative Justice: Rather than killing suspects as a first resort under a law of war framework, law enforcement approaches grounded in international human rights law and due process have proven to be an effective alternative. By focusing on this approach and shifting away from a war paradigm for counterterrorism operations, the U.S. can better respond to threats, gather intelligence, and hold individuals accountable through the courts.

Congress has a crucial role to play. To strengthen these vital non-military tools to address to security threats, lawmakers can take several concrete steps including:

1. Repealing the two outdated war authorizations underpinning current U.S. counterterrorism wars.
   
2. Investing in diplomacy and peacebuilding to ensure relevant agencies have the resources needed to respond to threats and foster peace without the use of military force.
   
3. Pressing the administration to improve transparency on the use of law enforcement to respond to threats and require compliance with statutory reporting obligations concerning the use of force.

It's time for a paradigm shift in how we respond to the threat of terrorism. By taking these steps, Congress can turn the page on the era of endless wars and set the U.S. on a more effective, sustainable, and rights-respecting course.

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