What makes counterterrorism complex is the close links established between terrorist groups to be more efficient, despite their different backgrounds. That renders countering terrorism much more challenging for state and non-state actors.
Counterterrorism: Who? How?
Powerful states worldwide are working tirelessly to combat terrorism, in addition to international organizations and institutions, both alone and through cooperation with other stakeholders. We can quote, for example, the United State’s handling of the Al Qaeda case, Russia’s efforts to combat terrorism in Syria and the Central African Republic, and Morocco’s experience as a leader in the field, capitalizing on cooperation and intelligence sharing.
Counterterrorism actions are not based only on the performance of intelligence services but also on international institutions, including reaching a consensus on the sanctions imposed. We can observe such actions in U.N. sanctions, the E.U., and NATO decisions.
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The USA vs. Terrorism
As previously mentioned, the USA invested itself in the counterterrorism field by creating a bureau for counterterrorism in the U.S. Department of State in 2012. Before being called the Bureau of Counterterrorism, it was previously named “the Office for Combating Terrorism” when established in 1972, then “The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism” in 1985.
The Bureau of Counterterrorism works to strengthen partnerships, civilian capacity, and information sharing worldwide to counter evolving terrorist threats and prevent the spread of violent extremism. The United States created many programs to fight terrorism in its territory and overseas. For instance, the Antiterrorism Assistance Program, 1983, served as the primary provider of U.S. government antiterrorism training and equipment to law enforcement agencies of partner nations worldwide and has delivered counterterrorism training to more than 90,000 law enforcement personnel from 154 countries.
A further example is Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The Bureau uses various tools and programs to isolate and weaken terrorist groups and their support networks. C.T. leads the Department of State’s efforts to identify terrorist organizations and their members, freeze their financial resources, block their financial transactions, and prevent others from providing them with material or financial support. The CFT is trying to isolate the groups so they can catch them.
The Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF) is designed to build a network of effective partnerships from South Asia to the Sahel and to develop them in countries and regions where terrorist networks seek to establish a foothold.
Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) is an interagency forum coordinating U.S. government-wide technology prototyping under the National Combating Terrorism Research and Development (R&D) Program.
For its part, Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) was established in 2005. It is a multifaceted, multi-year strategy implemented jointly by the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Defense to assist partners in West and North Africa, to increase their immediate and long-term capabilities to address terrorist threats and prevent the spread of violent extremism.
There is also a significant collaboration between American intelligence services, like when both of CIA and FBI collaborated by creating the Alec Station to investigate Oussama Ben Laden. Before this collaboration, the lack of communication between U.S. agencies allowed many of the wanted members from the Al Qaeda group to enter the country without being arrested. The NSA is also proceeding similarly in collecting data. Edward Snowden shared this information in 2012, causing a big scandal in the United States because the storage of personal data is an anti-constitutional act in contradiction with individual freedom.
After the 9/11 attack, which Al Qaeda orchestrated, the U.S. government responded by attacking Taliban and al-Qaeda forces as a coercive form of counterterrorism. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 challenged that country’s viability as an al-Qaeda sanctuary and training ground. It compromised communication, operational, and financial linkages between al-Qaeda leadership and its militants, returning to the American experience in fighting terrorism, especially the Al Qaeda group. The USA decided to invade Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, in the name of the “war on terrorism.” The allies’ coalition formed by U.S. and U.K. armies and France, Australia, and Canada’s logistical help, carried out the invasion.
The current president of the United States announced the end of that war and the American intervention in Afghanistan on August 2021. During more than one decade, more than 3,500 American soldiers died, and more than 20,000 were injured. On the other side, 69,000 Afghan soldiers had been killed by Americans, along with 51,000 civilians. The assassination of Ez-Zawahiri finalized the U.S. presence; an action carried out after the announcement of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
Russia vs. Terrorism
Russia is active in counterterrorism. The country is developing its legislation and laws, cooperating with other states at the regional and international levels, and enforcing relevant international conventions and agreements, Security Council resolutions, and General Assembly recommendations. It also implemented its investigative Bureau (FSB), dedicated to the detection, suppression, and investigation of crimes involving the financing of terrorism.
The Russian Federation is actively cooperating with foreign law enforcement agencies in investigating terrorism-related crimes and prosecuting persons complicit in such activity. This kind of cooperation includes providing legal assistance in terrorism and criminal cases and submitting requests to the competent authorities of other States for the extradition of persons sought in connection with terrorist groups proceedings. In 2019, 46 requests for the extradition of persons accused of committing crimes relating to terrorist activity were submitted to the competent authorities of foreign States. Nine Russian requests for extradition have been granted, while nine others have been rejected—five of the total number of requests submitted in 2019 involved terrorist financings. Out of the five, two requests were granted. The Russian authorities also submitted 63 requests for legal assistance in 2019.
Russian troops have experience in fighting terrorism in Syria, more precisely against ISIS, through the military intervention which started in 2015. Knowing that ISIS had 3,000 Russians fighting on its side and 5,000 other people from the countries of the former USSR, the Russian Federation does not welcome them on its territory or that of its allies since they will always represent a danger to the population.
The outcome of this intervention between September 2015 and March 2016, according to Youssouf Gotan Ahmad, in his book “Russian Federation and Crisis Management, the Return of the Russian Bear to the International Scene,” was as follows:
- The recapture of 392 civilian areas, gripped by the jihadists.
- The government control of more than 10,140km² of Syria.
- The execution of more than 8,922 ‘air sorties’ of Russian air troops, destroying 2,584 command centers, 405 training camps, 181 explosives workshops, and 2,043 ammunition and fuel depots that belonged to ISIS.
- Recapturing Palmyra and booby-trapping it with mines to guard and protect this historic monument, or what remains of it.
- 28,000/80,000 jihadists met their end during this period, compared to 5,000 jihadists for American operations.
Furthermore, the Central African Republic (CAR) asked Russian Federation (R.F.) for help in counterterrorism in its territory, where 14 terrorist groups were and still active. CAR is in the grip of a security crisis, which is a consequence of the spread of armed groups, the most known of which are the Séleka and the anti-Balaka. The instability in the Central African Republic became more pronounced after 2013, as an indirect consequence of the Arab Spring, especially in Libya after the death of Gadhafi.
To re-impose peace in Central Africa, Russia provided 900 Makarov pistols, 5,200 assault rifles, and 840 Kalashnikov machine guns, added 140 sniper rifles and 270 portable anti-tank grenade launchers, and 20 MANPADS, and ammunition. Following the meeting between the R.F. Foreign Minister and the Central African President, 175 Russian military instructors were sent to CAR to train more than 1,300 soldiers into two battalions. The instructors were not only militaries but there were some engineers. They were accused of being members of WAGNER, which is not false.
The representatives of the R.F. in CAR were acting with international organizations. They have conducted discussions with all 14 of the CAR’s armed groups, including their leaders such as Djatodia, the president overthrown in the 2013 coup d’etat and the current opposition leader. They also approached Nourdine Adam, the leader of the “Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique” and former Séleka soldiers. The discussions ended with exploiting the R.F.’s mines in the north of the country, which rebel groups detained, in exchange for a peace and reconciliation summit held between the 3rd and the 6th of February 2019 in Khartoum, under the U.N. presidency.
After this peace agreement, tensions decreased, according to Christophe François in his article “the crisis in central Africa, revealing Russia’s new African ambitions,(La crise Centrafricaine: révélateur des nouvelles ambitions Africaines de la Russie).
Morocco vs. Terrorism
The Moroccan Kingdom is known globally for its leadership in fighting terrorism. Indeed, the country co-chairs the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF), Morocco, and its chairman set the recruitment of terrorists to increase countries’ civilian capacity to deal with the terrorist threat. Previously, Morocco co-chaired the GCTF with the Netherlands in 2016 and then in 2020 with Canada. That was followed by the opening of the United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa (UNOCT) on June 24, 2021, in Rabat.
Mr. Cherkaoui, the director of the Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations, said that Morocco strongly believes in the importance of cooperation between all security services at the national and international levels. He adds that from 2002 to the present, Morocco has dismantled 213 terrorist cells. However, the fight against terrorism is not only security-based, as he points out, but it is also ideological. Therefore, Morocco is training preachers and promoting a tolerant Islam Malekit in countries where Islam exists. This prompted the creation of the Foundation Mohammed VI of African Ulemas in 2015 to use religious diplomacy.
On the legal side, Morocco adopted law 03-03 in 2003 to counter terrorism, which was reinforced, according to Mr. Cherkaoui, after fighters from Syria and Iraq joined the Sahel by law 86-14 on May 20, 2015. This law incriminates rallying or attempting to rally to hotbeds of tension and training and enlisting others in criminal or terrorist organizations inside or outside the national territory.
Morocco has adopted biometrical ways to prevent the falsification of identity documents by terrorist groups and has deployed the Hadar plan at critical points. The creation of the BCIJ in March 2015, adds Mr. Cherkaoui, reinforced the security system.
The Bureau has dismantled 86 terrorist cells since its establishment, of which 80 are closely linked to ISIS, and six others legitimize burglary, theft from people they consider infidels.
Since the establishment of the Bureau, 1,400 people have been arrested, including 56 with a history of terrorism cases, 35 minors, and 14 women. He stressed that since September 11, 2001, the Kingdom had been unconditionally and fully engaged alongside the coalition countries in combating terrorist crime and violent extremism.
He pointed to the importance of security coordination between agencies, good use of information, sincerity in work, continuity, vigilance, proactive action, and international cooperation, noting that as a strategic partner, the Kingdom’s role is not limited to fighting terrorism locally or nationally, but extends beyond Morocco.
Mr. Cherkaoui also said that Morocco’s international cooperation includes all its partners in Europe, the Arab world, Africa, and the United States, which has very distinguished partnerships with Morocco that culminated in the dismantling of several cells, such as the March 25, 2021 cell that was dismantled in the city of Oujda, thanks to cooperation between the interests of the General Directorate of National Territory Surveillance and the American intelligence services.
Finally, Morocco shares information with other states about dangers and attacks. An attack could have taken place in Saint-Denis, France, on November 18, 2015, but it failed thanks to Moroccan security services, and the terrorists were arrested afterwards. They also informed the CIA of the entrance of a French-Moroccan citizen called Zakaria Moussaoui to the USA, stating that he was a member of Al Qaeda and was preparing something, says Lawrence Wright in his book The Looming Tower.
To explain the effectiveness and efficiency of the security approach in Morocco, the director of BCIJ goes back to the unconditional commitment of the Kingdom to the international coalition against terrorism in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States. This has made the Kingdom, he recalls, the target of the terrorist attacks, namely the deadly attacks of May 16, 2003, in Casablanca. This terrible event left Moroccans terrified, especially since this action left 45 dead. From that moment, “Morocco became aware that no one is safe from this devastating scourge,” says the director of the BCIJ. This led to the adoption of a comprehensive, integrated and multidimensional security strategy based on expectation and prevention, following royal guidelines.
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The U.N. and Terrorism
The United Nations’ efforts to counter terrorism led it to open the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), established on June 15, 2017, through the adoption of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 71/291. This office has five main functions:
- Provide leadership on the General Assembly counterterrorism mandates entrusted to the Secretary-General across the United Nations system.
- Enhance coordination and coherence across the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities to ensure the balanced implementation of the four pillars of the U.N. Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
- Strengthen the delivery of United Nations counterterrorism capacity-building assistance to the Member States.
- Improve visibility, advocacy, and resource mobilization for United Nations counterterrorism efforts.
- Ensure that due priority is given to counterterrorism across the United Nations system and that the critical work on preventing violent extremism is firmly rooted in the Strategy.
The office’s counterterrorism efforts are deployed in many fields, like border security, cyber security, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism, countering the financing of terrorism and terrorists’ travels, as well as preventing terrorist actions and human rights.
The office established programs in many regions affected by terrorism, like the Sahel, and found the program counterterrorism in the Sahel and central Asia. There is also a program for cyber security (border security and management, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism (chemical biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism), for youth (youth engagement and empowerment), terrorism victims (victims of terrorism), criminal justice programs (criminal justice measures), and many others.
The European Union vs. Terrorism
The European Union’s efforts rely on extensive information-sharing networks, supported by increasingly interoperable E.U. databases and enhanced police and judicial cooperation. This enables them to make the necessary connections across borders. They also have potent tools to disempower terrorists, including firearms, explosives precursors, terrorist financing, and criminalizing travel for terrorist purposes.
The European Union’s counterterrorism efforts are as follows:
- Anticipate existing and emerging threats in Europe. Sharing information and building a culture of multidisciplinary cooperation.
- Prevent attacks by addressing radicalization, and also, to prevent attacks, addressing radicalization and extremist ideologies and countering them more effectively before they take root, making it clear that respect for the European way of life, its democratic values, and all that it stands for is not optional.
- Reduce vulnerabilities, whether they affect public spaces or the critical infrastructure essential to the functioning of European societies and the economy.
- Respond to attacks when they occur by encouraging the operational support of E.U. agencies such as Europol and Eurojust.
In the case of the Taliban, the E.U. adopted the following restrictive measures against Afghanistan as sanctions :
- The embargo on arms and related material,
- The ban on the provision of certain services,
- The freezing of funds and economic resources,
- The restriction on admission for visas.
NATO vs. Terrorism
NATO had been involved in counterterrorism efforts after the 9/11 attacks and got stronger after the creation of ISIS. The alliance is based on three main areas: awareness, capabilities, and engagement. To do so, they must cooperate in the security area, manage and prevent the crisis together, dissuade the enemy, and defend their territory from it. The E.U. cooperates with many international organizations and countries to fight terrorism.
NATO has participated in fighting ISIS since 2017, and in the following year, the alliance sent a mission to Iraq, a non-combat advisory and capacity-building mission. It aims to strengthen Iraqi security forces and institutions to prevent the return of ISIS better, fight terrorism, and stabilize the country. In February 2021, Allied Defense Ministers agreed to expand the scope of NATO Mission Iraq upon request from Iraq.
In addition, NATO has been fighting terrorism in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2021. The mission helped the Afghan government expand its authority on its lands and implement security to prevent the country from becoming a haven for international terrorism. NATO launched the non-combat Resolute Support Mission (RSM) to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces. The mission was in coalition with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).