Our Mission:  Advocate and implement a winning strategy for the US global war on terror using the appropriate political, military, and social policies and tactics referred to as “unconventional warfare.” 

WinTheGWOT Activities:

1. Provide in-depth research of relevant historic and current events to provide guidance to members of Congress, the Department of Defense, and other agencies on the efficacy and practical application of unconventional strategies for the Global War on Terror and the counterinsurgent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

2. Work with members of Congress and other senior government officials to learn and apply the successful principals of counterinsurgency with particular emphasis on its socio-political aspects.

3. Advise members of Congress, senior government, and cabinet officials to redesign the Department of Defense and subordinate military services so that unconventional warfare becomes a core competency on par with its supremacy in conventional warfare.

Why Do We Need to Change the Strategy? The current focus on killing insurgents via conventional warfare and attrition is highly counterproductive and plays directly into the strategy of our enemies.  The resulting collateral damage inflicted upon the societies in which these conflicts take place erodes popular support, creates animosity toward the US and its allies, and drives more people directly into the ranks of the enemy. 

Even if we do not actively alienate the populace (as we have done to date in Iraq), but simply fail to provide consistent protection the populace is left with little real choice but to grudgingly support an enemy they do not agree with ideologically.

Counterinsurgency expert, David Galula, states it most clearly.  

"The population's attitude…is dictated not so much by the relative popularity and merits of the opponents as by the more primitive concern for safety.  Which side gives the best protection, which one threatens the most, which one is likely to win, these are the criteria governing the population's stand."

With this understanding, we must change the US counterinsurgency strategy to one that combines political and military action and places the emphasis on the socio-political aspects of the conflict.  We must provide safety and security, eliminate government oppression and neglect, promote ethnic and religious tolerance, fight government and business corruption, and provide realistic opportunities for health, welfare, and prosperity.  This will reduce the root causes that drive support and sympathy for terrorists and insurgents, which in turn reduces their ability to move freely throughout the population and makes it easier for us to capture or kill them.

Unfettered by the “Conventional Wisdom” of the Pentagon and the Beltway: The historic wars we've fought, the sheer size of the government agencies involved, and the decades of momentum driving them make it difficult, if not impossible to internally develop an innovative response to the newly globalized threat of terrorism and insurgency.  For this reason, WinTheGWOT.org relies upon highly experienced subject matter experts from the military, prestigious research institutions, and academia from outside of the "box."  That is, thought leaders who are not subject to the momentum, preconceptions, and bureaucratic influences that affect decision making in the US government leadership.

We must implement a new strategy for the US global war on terror using the appropriate political, military, and social policies and unconventional tactics.  This dynamic paradigm shift in US government agencies is not likely to be driven from within the current bureaucracy.  Therefore, WinTheGWOT.org’s mission is to change the Administration's current focus from simply killing insurgents into a sound and comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy that combines political and military action, and places the emphasis on the socio-political aspects of the conflict.