SS474: Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Lesson 10: Organizing to Fight Terrorism
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To win the War on Terror, we will:
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Advance effective democracies as the
long-term antidote to the ideology of
terrorism;
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Prevent attacks by terrorist networks;
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Deny weapons of mass destruction to
rogue states and terrorist allies who
seek to use them;
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Deny terrorists the support and
sanctuary of rogue states;
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Deny terrorists control of any nation
they would use as a base and
launching pad for terror; and
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Lay the foundations and build the
institutions and structures we need to
carry the fight forward against terror
and help ensure our ultimate success.
MIDLIFE (formerly DIME) CT Approach
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Military
Intelligence
Diplomacy
Legal
Information
Financial
Economic
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State-Level Challenges
in Developing Countries
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Authoritarian governments
Corruption & Bribery
Lack of national strategies, expertise
Lots of “on-the-job” training among government
leaders
• Tremendous lack of resources to fund antiterrorism/counterterrorism efforts
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Regional Conditions
• Criminal activity
– Drugs
• hard/soft drugs trafficking
• Soft drugs use
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Small arms/light weapons
Money laundering
Piracy
Human trafficking
Armed groups, “hold ups”
• Other strategic opportunities which terrorists
could exploit
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Regional Conditions
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Refugees
Poverty
Porous borders
Bad neighbors
Under-resourced Naval, border security forces
Ethnic/religious differences
Unregulated financial networks
Rebel movements
Western presence/globalization – everywhere
State-sponsored terrorism
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Regional Needs
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Strategic guidance
Funds
Moral support
Training & equipment for police & law enforcement
Information/intelligence sharing between all
governments
Legal cooperation
Political will to cooperate regionally
Money
More Money
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Elements of the National CT Strategy
4 D’s:
• Defeat terrorist organizations of a global reach
• Deny terrorists the sponsorship, support, and
sanctuary they need to survive
• Diminish the underlying conditions that
promote the despair and destructive visions of
political change that lead people to embrace
terrorism
• Defend against terrorist attacks on the U.S.,
our citizens and our interests around the world
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Defeat terrorist organizations of a global reach
Objectives:
• Identify the terrorists
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Intelligence, Diplomacy, Information)
• Locate the terrorists
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Intelligence, Diplomacy, Information)
• Destroy the terrorists
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Military, Financial, Legal)
Requires considerable interagency coordination and multinational cooperation
Particular importance given to organizations with combination of high
motivation and significant capabilities
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Deny terrorists sponsorship, support, & sanctuary
Objectives:
• End state sponsorship
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomacy, Intelligence, Economic, Financial, Information, Legal, and in the most extreme cases,
Military)
• Establish & maintain international accountability
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Economic, Financial, Legal)
• Strengthen international will to combat terrorism
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomacy, Military, Intelligence, Economic, Financial, Legal)
• Interdict & disrupt material support for terrorists
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomacy, Intelligence, Economic, Intelligence, Financial, Legal)
• Eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and havens
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomacy, Military, Intelligence, Economic, Intelligence, Financial, Legal)
Requires considerable interagency coordination and multinational cooperation
In particular, we must work with willing and able states, enable weak states, persuade reluctant states, and
compel unwilling states
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Diminish the underlying conditions
Objectives:
• Strengthen international capacity to combat terrorism
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomacy, Intelligence, Military, Economic, Financial, Information, Legal)
• Win the war of ideas
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Legal)
Requires considerable interagency coordination and multinational cooperation
Special attention is already being given to developing SOF capabilities in places
like the Philippines, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel Region (e.g., TSCTI)
We need to focus on strengthening law enforcement/rule of law; intelligence
gathering & sharing; public diplomacy
Local communities must de-legitimize terrorism
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Defend against terrorist attacks
Objectives:
• Implement National Strategy for Homeland Security
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Intelligence, Economic, Financial, Information, Legal)
• Attain domain awareness
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Economic, Financial, Legal)
• Enhance measures to protect critical infrastructure
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Economic, Financial, Legal)
• Integrate measures to protect U.S. citizens abroad
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Economic, Financial, Legal)
• Ensure an integrated response capability
(DIMEFIL dimensions: Diplomatic, Intelligence, Information, Economic, Financial, Legal)
Based on the mindset that “the best defense is a good offense”
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The “L” in MIDLIFE
• Legal/Law Enforcement
• Rule of law is vital, both domestically and internationally
• The primary intelligence gatherers and first responders are
local law enforcement officers
• Help countries develop their law enforcement capabilities and
legal institutions
• Must conduct CT within ethical and legal frameworks, to avoid
exacerbating existing grievances
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Intelligence: Learn from our own mistakes
• We assumed simultaneous 9/11 attacks in U.S. were
beyond the capabilities of terrorists
• Overestimated the significance of past successes & the
terrorists’ own incompetence
• Attention was focused exclusively on opposite ends of
the terrorist technological spectrum
• Believed terrorists were still
interested in publicity and not killing
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Critical Analysis
• According to Schultz, why did we not go after bin
Laden prior to 9/11?
• What does this mean we need to do in the
future?
• According to Kilcullen, why should we call this
conflict a struggle against a global insurgency?
• What elements of traditional COIN does he
propose adapting to the global level?
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GWOT
VNSAs
(Good Guys)
(Bad Guys)
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Issues of Concern / Contested Terrains
GWOT
VNSA
Military
Need AW capabilities
Can learn much from military manuals
Information
Official government speeches,
messages, efforts to influence
public opinion
“Any/all source” videos, audios, games,
cartoons, etc. for radicalizing and
mobilizing
Diplomacy
Enormous need for
international cooperation
Can create nightmares for diplomacy by
exploiting fissures; For example, get allies
(like Spain) to withdraw troops from Iraq
Legal
U.S./UN Man-made laws
God’s Law (or other mechanism for delegitimizing legal challenges)
Intelligence
Need HUMINT from
communities who may not
trust government
Open Source intell can be very useful in
target surveillance, planning, etc.
Finance
Need to combat underground
financial networks
Financial incentives for violence
Economics
Can impose sanctions
Can exploit global trade vulnerabilities
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Counterterrorism Strategy
• Human intelligence networks are critical (although non-efficient
use of manpower)
• Must have continual presence – cannot go into a village “looking
for the terrorists”
• Focus on the enemy’s ideology, in addition to their tactics
• This is a War of Ideas: We need to convince them (potential
supporters and recruits) that we (liberal democracies) offer a
better way than separatist Islamic Jihad (but without attempting
to convert them to our way of life)
• We must work to bolster the image of American morals and
values being compatible with those of the Arab and Islamic
world, where we are too often portrayed as greedy, selfish
hedonists
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Counterterrorism Strategy
• Evaluate trends and potentials, capabilities and intentions,
and provide an operational net assessment
• The contemporary terrorist threat involves a series of
adversaries linked in networks. Combating networks requires
an understanding of networked threats
• Must not over-react; terrorist strategy may be to provoke overreaction, leading to further alienation and possible supporters
among populace
• Tactical level: thwart an attack, pursue and bring to justice
attack perpetrators
• Strategic level: build resilient communities
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Counterterrorism Strategy
• Information warfare
- We must develop an effective counter-ideological message
- Manage perceptions/be more proactive in the information battlespace
- Undermine the perceived legitimacy among supporters
• How well do we invest in and support the “extremists whom
we like” (a.k.a., “moderates”) and support ways to amplify
their voices?
• We must invest in educational & social institutions; media
organizations
• Our National Strategy for Combating Terrorism can only be
achieved through
– Multinational partnerships
– Interagency coordination
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