Page 125 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Counterterrorism———99

terrorists and their support networks. Counterterrorism who walked into the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and
is inherently an offensive, as opposed to defensive, told U.S. diplomats where Yousef was staying.
approach to the threat, involving diplomacy, intelli- Elements of several U.S. government agencies were
gence operations, law enforcement, military opera- involved in vetting the information provided by the
tions, and counterterrorism training. source and putting in place an operation to apprehend
Yousef. In addition, the United States asked for and
received the full assistance of the government of
DIPLOMACY Pakistan to arrest and remove Yousef from Pakistan.
This type of coordination and cooperation is charac-
The diplomatic dimension of counterterrorism tradi- teristic of what happens when things go well. But
tionally is associated with foreign relations and interna- these events do not happen of their own accord; it
tional terrorism, but it is also applicable when fighting takes preparation and often years of work to put the
domestic terrorism. Diplomacy is the art of persuad-
mechanisms in place. Securing cooperation is the
ing others to do things that serve mutual interests. The
nuts and bolts of diplomacy.
diplomatic component of counterterrorism encom-
passes activities such as persuading Lebanon to close INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
down terrorist training camps, securing Pakistan’s
permission to arrest and render Ramzi Ahmed Yousef Accurate intelligence also is a critical element in an
to U.S. authorities, or the FBI sharing information with effective counterterrorism policy. Intelligence, as a
local police to prevent a terrorist attack. The use of tool of counterterrorism, has several dimensions—
diplomacy involves reaching international consensus field operations, covert action, technical collection,
on how to handle issues ranging from aviation security and analysis. In field operations the objective of intel-
to tagging explosives to imposing sanctions on state ligence is to identify the members of terrorist groups,
sponsors. Most important, it involves developing and learn how they get their money, locate where they do
implementing policy responses to terrorism or the their training and operational planning, and ultimately
threat of it. obtain access to the decision makers. This kind of
Diplomacy has been used more frequently and with information is essential for mounting operations to
more success on the international front. Domestically, disrupt or preempt terrorist attacks. Obtaining such
it is another story. Interactions between federal, state, intelligence, however, is a daunting task.
and local officials can be just as complicated and Another facet of intelligence activities, covert
sensitive as any operation conducted overseas. Proper action, is similar to diplomacy only done in secret.
coordination among the different law enforcement Covert action is the use of information and/or disin-
agencies can play a critical role in whether a prose- formation to attack and weaken the opponent. The
cutable case against a terrorist can be built. Law ultimate goal of such efforts is to help create an envi-
enforcement officials across the United States fre- ronment that supports the overall counterterrorism
quently complain that federal officials, particularly policy. For example, when employed against a terror-
the FBI, work in a vacuum, ignore local police, and ist group covert action could encompass planting
refuse to share information. The newly established stories in the media that are designed to undermine
cabinet-level Homeland Security department man- support for that group and/or build support within a
dates that the FBI and CIA share information with country for taking action against the terrorists.
each other and with the department itself; it is hoped The technical dimension of intelligence activities
that this top-level coordination will translate into includes efforts to intercept or monitor all communi-
better interdepartment cooperation at all levels. cations by terrorists. This includes actions such as an
Finding and arresting terrorists outside the United old-fashioned wiretap to penetration of a terrorist
States is a significant undertaking. It requires the computer. Technical intelligence activities also can
permission of foreign governments and coordination be employed to disrupt terrorist communications or
among a variety of agencies. The arrest of the master- interfere with the transfer of financial resources.
mind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Intelligence analysis plays an important role in
Ahmed Yousef, is a case in point. The U.S. government identifying the structure and plans of terrorists. After
first learned of his whereabouts thanks to an informant field operatives gather raw data, someone has to make