Terrorism Binder

Plans and Backgrounders on the Terrorist Threat

ISIS and related terrorists will continue to pose a threat to U.S. national security and the security of our allies for the foreseeable future. In The Plan to Combat Terrorism, we lay out a four-part plan for policymakers to eliminate the threat of terrorism at home and abroad.

1. Prevent the immediate threat – protect the homeland and disrupt potential terrorist attacks.
2. Destroy ISIS abroad – support and strengthen U.S. activities to defeat ISIS in Syria, Iraq, and beyond.
3. Prevent radicalization in the U.S. – enhance our efforts to stop radicalization and terrorist recruitment.
4. Deny fertile ground to terrorists – build our allies’ capacity to counter terrorist threats and reassert long-term stability over their territories.

Responding to Heightened Voter Anxiety

Circumventing concerns about jobs and the economy, voters are identifying national security as their top concern in the 2016 election. For Democratic officials who brought the perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks to justice and prevented any large-scale attacks on American soil for a decade, this would appear to be a strong position with voters. However, our public opinion research and polling has uncovered a troubling vulnerability with voters.

In our memo, Uncovering the Paradox of National Security Public Opinion, we explain that, unlike most issues, where conventional wisdom suggests that a candidate should move towards the voters, our survey, and nearly all national security surveys, showed that voters prefer the Party they view as tougher than they are.

In recent polls conducted by Third Way, nearly 1/4 Democrats said they preferred Republicans on national security. And Democrats lost Independent voters by a 2-to-1 margin. The numbers are even worse among voters who identified national security as their top priority.

To restore trust with security voters, Democratic officials must acknowledge the psychological lens through which voters are seeing the threat. Instead of dismissing their fears and pivoting to more comfortable topics, our memo on Winning Back National Security Voters recommends Democrats must show voters that they understand that their fears are substantial and real, and they must be unequivocal in acknowledging that ISIS is a direct threat to the people of the United States.

Our 2014 focus groups showed that voters wanted specificity in addressing these crucial issues: what precisely are political leaders proposing to do? Give them timelines, strategy, and cost.

Library of Terrorism Resources

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Mieke Eoyang is the Vice President for the National Security Program at Third Way. She had a long career on Capitol Hill, most recently serving as Chief of Staff to Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Prior to that, she was the Defense Policy Advisor to Senator Kennedy, the Subcommittee Staff Director on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and a Professional Staff Member on the House Armed Services Committee. Mieke earned her J.D. at The University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and graduated from Wellesley College. Her analysis is often solicited by The Wall Street Journal, POLITICO, Associated Press, and other media outlets. Her writing has appeared in numerous media outlets including The Washington Post, Roll Call, and Forbes.

Prior to joining Third Way as a Policy Advisor for National Security, Sanaa served three Democratic chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than four years. She worked on a variety of foreign policy issues, primarily on U.S. efforts against ISIS, counterterrorism and providing oversight of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Contrary to what appears to be her preference for a hard power portfolio, Sanaa is also passionate about promoting global women's rights, religious liberty and international justice.