WASHINGTON — The influential Washington-based think tank Rand Corp. says the war on terror has run off track since the attacks of Sept. 11. Although it has made some successes, it needs redirection.
Missteps include failing to negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, and launching the Iraq war, which did little to weaken al-Qaida, the authors say in a book released Tuesday.
The Rand Corp. book comes out just as the Senate meets to confirm a new nominee for the National Counterterrorism Center, which was created to help share intelligence and stop another terror attack.
The nominee is career Justice Department lawyer Matthew Olsen, who is currently general counsel for the eavesdropping National Security Agency. Rand says intelligence sharing is one of the areas where the United States has improved.
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