Role of the US and UN: Terrorism

1. Role of the US and UN: Terrorism Presentation by: Ng Zhong Jin (17); Melvin Ong (20); Low Zi Xin (15)

2. Background: US and UN • The US and the UN shared a common vision: • Believe in a world in which peace and prosperity are property of all people • Share core principles of freedom, democracy, good governance and human rights

3. Background: US and UN • They aim to: • Promote international peace and security through multilateral diplomacy • Fight poverty and eradicate pandemic disease by building solid foundations for development • Advance freedom, human rights, and democratic institutions through cooperation with other nations • Improve health and education

4. Background: Terrorism • What is terrorism? • It is violence against civilians to achieve political or ideological objectives by creating fear. • Examples of terrorism: • Bali Bombing • September 11 attacks

5. The Role of the UN • Implemented the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy • Strategy was adopted by the GA on 8 September 2006 • Marks the first timemember states agree to a global strategic frameworkto counter-terrorism

6. The Role of the UN • Objectives of the Strategy: • Address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism • Defend human rights while combating terrorism • Prevent and combat terrorism • Build state capacity to counter terrorism • To achieve these objectives, various measures have been taken.

7. Addressing conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism • Department of Public Information • Cooperates with member states of the UN to promote respect, tolerance, and cultural diversity • Organized seminars to confront anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

8. Addressing conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism • UNESCO • Promotes dialogue among civilizations, culture and people by fostering quality education

9. Defend human rights while combating terrorism • United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights • Provides assistance and advice to member states on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, including the development of human rights-compliant anti-terrorism legislation and policy

10. Defend human rights while combating terrorism • United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute • Provides training on witness protection, especially the persons who have participated in terrorist or organized criminal groups and the victims of terrorism

11. Prevent and combat terrorism • Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) • Monitors implementation of Resolution 1373 • Resolution 1373 calls on countries to enact measures to prevent terrorist act and provides recommendations for improvements

12. Prevent and combat terrorism • Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions regime • Security Council requires states to impose sanctions on individuals listed as associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban • Currently, 362 individuals and 125 entities have been placed on that list by the Security Council and over $90 million in financial assets of those listed have been frozen by 34 States

13. Build state capacity to counter terrorism • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime • Assisted more than 125 countries to implement universal instruments related to the prevention and suppression of international terrorism • Deploy professional expertise in the field to train officials of relevant authorities • Build institutions to improve countries’ capacities in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism

14. Build state capacity to counter terrorism • UN Interregional Crime & Justice Research Institute • Provide support to numerous member states engaged in security preparations of major events (eg. Olympics) • Promote development of integrated research area on major event security

15. Evaluation: Role of the UN • Since the implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, it is evident that the UN counter-terrorism framework strikes and more balanced focus on both the threat and measures to address it effectively • The focus is not solely on security-related preventative measures but also gives priority attention to addressing terrorism’s underlying conditions such as poverty, prolonged unresolved conflicts, dehumanization of victims of terrorism etc • It has become a holistic, inclusive approach to counter-terrorism

16. The Role of the US • Before and After the September 11 incident: • US had no anti-terrorism policy or strategy based upon risk assessment • Each department and agency developed its own approach • Little or no effort to develop a coordinated risk assessment policy

17. Introduction • Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN) • FBI is responsible for Crisis Management after a terrorist attack • FBI secures all evidences before responders can enter the area

18. Introduction • Domestic Terrorism Program • Also carried out by FBI • Responds to threats involving atomic energy, weapons of mass destruction, sabotage, hostage-killing and civil unrest

19. Introduction • Terrorism Budget • Federal buildings security • Response equipment that could be used to respond to Nuclear, Biological and Chemical terrorism • Anti-terrorist trainings

20. US Anti-Terrorism Policies • Developed plans involving crisis and consequence management • Trained army/ soldiers to respond to terrorist threats such as Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Terrorism

21. US Anti-Terrorism Policies • Did nothing to evaluate what terrorists could accomplish: • In 9-11 incident, these plans provided a good response mechanism to respond to terrorist attacks, but did nothing to analyze the risk of what the terrorists could achieve or do • In other words, US trained its people to respond to terrorism, not to deal with it or fight it.

22. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • April 1983 - A suicide car bombing against the U.S. embassy in Beirut kills 63, including 17 Americans. • October 1983 - A suicide car bomb attack against the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut kills 241 servicemen. A simultaneous attack on a French base kills 58 paratroopers. • November 1984 - A bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia kills a passer-by. The attack was preceded by death threats against U.S. officials by drug traffickers. • April 1985 - A bomb explodes in a restaurant near a U.S. air base in Madrid, Spain, killing 18, all Spaniards, and wounding 82, including 15 Americans.

23. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • June 1985 - In San Salvador, El Salvador, 13 people are killed in a machine gun attack at an outdoor café, including four U.S. Marines and two American businessmen. • June 1985 - A TWA airliner is hijacked over the Mediterranean, the start of a two-week hostage ordeal. The last 39 passengers are eventually released in Damascus after being held in various locations in Beirut. • August 1985 - A car bomb at a U.S. military base in Frankfurt, Germany kills two and injures 20. A U.S. soldier murdered for his identity papers is found a day after the explosion.

24. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • October 1985 - Palestinian terrorists hijack the cruise liner Achille Lauro (in response to the Israeli attack on PLO headquarters in Tunisia) Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly, wheelchair-bound American, is killed and thrown overboard. • November 1985 - Hijackers aboard an Egyptair flight kill one American. Egyptian commandos later storm the aircraft on the isle of Malta, and 60 people are killed. • December 1985 - Simultaneous suicide attacks are carried out against U.S. and Israeli check-in desks at Rome and Vienna international airports. 20 people are killed in the two attacks, including four terrorists.

25. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • April 5, 1986 - A bomb destroys the LaBelle discotheque in West Berlin. The disco was known to be frequented by U.S. servicemen. The attack kills one American and one German woman and wounds 150, including 44 Americans • In response, on April 15 the United States retaliated in an operation dubbed ‘El Dorado Canyon.’ Approximately 100 aircraft were launched in direct support of the raid. It was an attack against military targets involving land-based bombers from Great Britain together with carrier-based air strikes from ships in the Gulf of Sidra. • April 1986 - An explosion damages a TWA flight as it prepares to land in Athens, Greece. Four people are killed when they are sucked out of the aircraft.

26. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • Dec. 21, 1988 - A bomb destroys Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 are killed including 189 Americans, as are 11 people on the ground. • February 1993 - A bomb in a van explodes in the underground parking garage in New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,042. • April 19, 1995 - A car bomb destroys the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and wounding over 600. • Nov. 13, 1995 - A car-bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills seven people, five of them American military and civilian advisers for National Guard training. The "Tigers of the Gulf," "Islamist Movement for Change," and "Fighting Advocates of God" claim responsibility.

27. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • June 25, 1996 - A bomb aboard a fuel truck explodes outside a U.S. air force installation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 19 U.S. military personnel are killed in the Khubar Towers housing facility, and 515 are wounded, including 240 Americans. • July 27, 1996 - A pipe bomb explodes during the Olympic games in Atlanta, killing one person and wounding 111. • June 21, 1998 - Rocket-propelled grenades explode near the U.S. embassy in Beirut.

28. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • Aug. 7, 1998 - Terrorist bombs destroy the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Nairobi, 12 Americans are among the 291 killed, and over 5,000 are wounded, including 6 Americans. In Dar es Salaam, one U.S. citizen is wounded among the 10 killed and 77 injured. • In response, on August 20 the United States attacked targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with over 75 cruise missiles fired from Navy ships in the Arabian and Red seas. About 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from warships in the Arabian Sea. Most struck six separate targets in a camp near Khost, Afghanistan. Simultaneously, about 20 cruise missiles were fired from U.S. ships in the Red Sea striking a factory in Khartoum, Sudan, which was suspected of producing components for making chemical weapons.

29. Chronology of Terrorist Attacks • Oct. 12, 2000 - A terrorist bomb damages the destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39. • September 11, 2001 - Terrorists hijack four U.S. commercial airliners taking off from various locations in the United States in a coordinated suicide attack. • In separate attacks, two of the airliners crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, which catch fire and eventually collapse. • A third airliner crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, causing extensive damage. • The fourth airliner, also believed to be heading towards Washington, DC, crashes outside Shanksville, PA., killing all 45 people on board. • Casualty estimates from New York put the possible death toll close to 5,000, while as many as 200 people may have been lost at the Pentagon crash site.

30. Evaluation: Iraq War • The US-led coalition's defeat of Saddam Hussein rid the Middle East of a brutal regime • Andeliminated a potential source of state- sponsored terrorism • But continuing instability in Iraq may make the country a breeding ground for anti-US terrorism

31. Evaluation: Afghanistan War • The removal of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has deprived al Qaeda of a state-based center of operations • But, the weak central government in Afghanistan has been unable to gain stability and Taliban forces seem to be reemerging.

32. Evaluation: Role of US • Have achieved some forms of success • But does not address the problem of terrorism fully • Many al-Qaeda leaders have been captured, and is a decrease in terrorist attacks. However, terrorist attacks continue in the Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, and Russia • States supporting terrorism, including Syria and Iran, remain threats, and options for military actions against them are limited • Allies of the US in the Muslim World have become targets for Islamist militants and terrorist attacks

33. Evaluation: Role of the US • US support for some authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world provokes resentment over the suppression of democracy and human rights, creating hostility that can be exploited by terrorist groups for recruitment • Terrorist attacks can be expected to continue in coming years. The elimination of global terrorism remains far off.

34. Proposed Resolutions • Understanding that terrorism stems from the hostile ideology of militant Islam is the first step towards formulating an effective, long-term anti-terrorism strategy • The next phase of a successful effort against global terrorism should differ in part from the approach of the two years following 9/11 • The focus must be on long-term and deep- seated issues, including democratization, economic growth, and educational reform in the Muslim world. • Also, the development of more open societies and increased prosperity should be key goals.

35. Proposed Resolutions • To realize these goals, U.S. policy should concentrate on: • building consensus and enhancing international cooperation • applying cautious pressure for reform in Muslim states • encouraging moderate Islamic voices • achieving political stability and economic reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan • With effective policies, global terrorism may diminish over time, but at present public opinion has turned sharply against the United States. Closer cooperation with the UN may help in US’s counter-terrorism efforts.

36. Past Cooperation • In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the US succeeded in reaching out to the UN, to help globalize the “war on terror”. • In September 2006, the GA adopted the first ever global counter-terrorism strategy, which is very much in line with the Bush Administration’s updated counter-terrorism strategy.

37. Future Cooperation • With a Secretary-General Ban and US Ambassador Khalizad newly appointed in 2007, the US should seize the opportunity to show that she is committed to working with its global partners in addressing global threats.

38. References • http://www.state.gov/p/io/rls/rm/2003/21913.htm • http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/articles/unf_insights.pdf • http://www.state.gov/s/ct/ • http://idl.stanford.edu/conference/powerpoint/Vdovin.ppt. • http://www.un.org/terrorism/pdfs/CT_factsheet_may2007x.pdf • http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2003/0303middleeast_byman.aspx • http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr111.pdf • http://internationalteenlife.pbwiki.com/f/TerrorismPic123.JPG • http://learnsigma.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/terrorism.gif • http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/chronology.html

39. Thank you! • Questions?