Cash is king in COIN

TERRORISM THREAT: "Al-Qaeda exploits failures of weak state: Political, social and economic reform is vital in the fight to halt militants," by Andrew England, Financial Times, 4 January 2010.

The word on how AQ moves in on failed-state localities:

They come with bags of cash for the tribes and we have heard they come with teachers for schools, so they understand the importance of the economy. They are not promising jihad; they are promising economic assistance.

Granted, it's designed to be a bait-and-switch ultimately, but it just goes to show that we only symmetricize when we "attack" the situation similarly.