The political drawbacks of implementing a cooperative security strategy could be appreciable, since, in stark contrast to recent U.S. military deployments, there would be few immediately tangible achievements. Congress could be slow to authorize or appropriate funds for international aid, or to consent to necessary bureaucratic reorganizations. But while the short-term accomplishments associated with cooperative security may seem few, long-term progress is the prize. Implementation will entail some risks, but the failure to act will entail more.

The authors served as Directors for Transnational Threats on the National Security Council staff under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. Mr. Fenzel is the Chairman of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA). Mr. Wolosky is the Director of Strategy for CENSA, an attorney at Boies, Schiller, and Flexner, Adjunct Professor in International Affairs at Columbia University and an Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Affairs. This piece is adapted from a forthcoming CENSA volume entitled Beyond the Campaign, an edited volume of more than twenty provocative pieces discussing the future of counter-terrorism policy.