Winning the War: West Point Teaches Jihad

One way to win the War on Terrorism is to better prepare soldiers before sending them into battle. That's why the military academy at West Point is teaching the next generation of military leaders the "jihad playbook" - and it's all about knowing your enemy. The classes are designed to help cadets respond effectively when they leave the orderly confines of West Point and lead patrols in the most chaotic and dangerous regions of Iraq and Afghanistan. What exactly do the cadets learn in these classes?

According to Jarret Brachman (Director of Research at the academy's Combating Terrorism Center) and colleague William McCants, the class discusses the three-step strategy terrorists use to overthrow existing Middle East governments:

1. Terrorists bomb sensitive local targets such as tourist sites and oil facilities. This forces redeployment of security forces.
2. Once authorities have concentrated their forces at economically vulnerable sites, terrorists move into remote, undefended cities.
3. Expand the jihad influence by networking cities and regions together to overthrow the existing government, with the ultimate goal of establishing a caliphate.

Among the realities that most cadets - and most of the American civilian population - don't understand about the terrorists is that the enemy has mastered the art of propaganda, PowerPoint presentations, and explosives. They have created video games in which players shoot at American soldiers and U.S. troop vehicles explode. In addition, the intellectual father of jihad is not Osama bin Laden. It is an Egyptian national named Sayyid Qutb, who was executed in the mid-60s.