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Since the attacks of 9/11 the search for effective counter-terror strategies has become an urgent priority for policy makers. Dr. Audrey Kurth Cronin, a Professor at the National War College, has argued that the United States has made numerous missteps in developing counter-terror strategies because of its limited experience with the phenomenon. i Quantitative tests on databases of terrorist activity can help us examine the effects of various strategies in order to determine their degree of impact. One strategy that is considered to be effective by conventional wisdom is “decapitation”–the tactic of removing the leadership of terrorist organizations. Besides its presumed efficacy, the decapitation strategy is also pursued as a matter of justice and in order to reassure the society targeted by terrorists that its government is taking action on its behalf. This paper tests the effectiveness of the decapitation strategy in terms of the reduction of terrorist activity.