WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has begun an internal review aimed at changing terror-fighting policy to adapt to the changing landscape of violent extremism.
U.S. policy since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has focused mainly on hunting al-Qaida leaders, but the review aims to change the procedure into what a senior official called a broader "strategy against violent extremism," the Washington Post reported Sunday.
The Post said the policy change comes in response to al Qaida's transformation into a difficult-to-target amorphous organization over the past three years. However, some have criticized the administration for delaying the policy review by leaving key counterterrorism jobs unfilled and arguing internally over how to combat the changing landscape of Islamic extremism.
President Bush's top adviser on terrorism, Frances Fragos Townsend, told the Post the review is necessary to adapt to the "ripple effect" from years of operations targeting al-Qaida leaders such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, arrested for planning the Sept. 11 attacks, and his recently detained deputy.
"Naturally, the enemy has adapted," she said.
