Is the "War on Terror" the Wrong Term?

The U.S. should stop using the phrase "war on terror" and redefine the struggle against al Qaeda to focus on intelligence services and police work, according to a new study by the Rand Corporation. Historically, the study says, few terrorist groups are stopped by military means; either their leaders are captured by authorities or change brings them into the political process.

Americans have a strong preference for non-military solutions in foreign policy right now. Our Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index finds that seven in 10 Americans think the U.S. should put more emphasis on diplomatic and economic efforts to fight terrorism, rather than military force. And better intelligence gathering is one of the public's most favored security strategies, with 57 percent saying it would enhance U.S. security "a great deal." But while this is consistently one of the public's top-rated strategies, this figure has dropped eight points since we first asked the question in 2005. Far fewer people (42 percent) think the U.S. is doing a good job on intelligence gathering, with 42 percent giving the government an "A" or "B" grade.

Overall, eight in 10 Americans say they worry about a terrorist attack, but only 37 percent say they worry "a lot." Some 39 percent give the U.S. an "A" or "B" grade for "hunting down anti-American terrorists," but that's a 15-point decline since 2005.