Time to Kill: When is Leadership Targeting an Effective Counterterrorism Strategy

摘要

When the United States Government faces a threat from an unconventional and asymmetric terrorist group, one possible counterterrorism strategy is leadership targeting. The value of leadership targeting is based on the expectation of a quick and cheap victory over the enemy by removing the leader from the organization and on a minimal expenditure of assets and resources to achieve these results. This study will argue that leadership targeting may be an effective strategy, but only under specific conditions. It is critical to the security of the United States, for strategic and operational planners, policy makers, and executives, to understand the appropriate environment for undertaking a leadership targeting strategy. This study provides a framework for analyzing the effectiveness of leadership targeting based on critical components of leadership.