Combating Terrorism Via the Womb

Would the empowerment of Iraqi women help counter terrorism? This paper explores an asymmetric, non-kinetic approach to help counter terrorism, which may require years and possibly generations to judge the results; however, with all the challenges faced by the U.S. as the U.S. continues to focus on the "Overseas Contingency Operation" against terrorism, why not explore the possibility. The research method used for this paper is the problem/solution method. The problem examined is the social status of Iraqi women stemming from the fallout of the 2003 Iraq war, and the possible benefits from the empowerment of women to help counter extremism. An Iraqi mother who is afforded access to an education, job training, and micro-lending programs, may raise children who follow in her footsteps; thereby growing up to become productive members of society versus engage in criminal or extremist type activity ripe for terrorism. This paper will explore possible solutions to help stem both the short- and long-term impact of extremist ideology and attacks in Iraq, while the Iraqis, the U.S., allies, NGOs, IGOs, and industry engage in nation building and lay the foundation for a viable and secure Iraqi state.