DATE=8/27/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=TERRORISM IN ASIA
NUMBER=5-44153
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The recent killing of a moderate Tamil
peacemaker in Sri Lanka points up the continuing
menace of terrorism in Asia. How to combat it in that
part of the world was discussed at a Washington
conference that brought together some of the leading
U-S counter-terrorists. V-O-A's Ed Warner reports.
TEXT: How do you cope with a suicide bomber? asked
James Dunne of the U-S State Department at a
conference held by the Potomac Institute for Policy
Studies in suburban Washington.
Mr. Dunne was referring to the suicide attack on
Neelam Tiruchelvam, an ethnic Tamil moderate who
became the latest casualty in Sri Lanka's civil war.
The assailant gave up his own life in order to assure
the death of his well-guarded victim.
Mr. Dunne said the Tamil Tigers, who demand a state of
their own, have perfected this unnerving form of
terrorism. No other group matches them in this
endeavor, or perhaps would want to.
Terrorist incidents are declining in much of the
world, said Caleb Temple, a senior counter-terrorism
official at the U-S Defense Department. But they are
increasing in Asia and are "extremely bloody." Mr.
Temple said Asian terrorists do not kill just to make
a point, but to claim as many victims as possible. The
danger is that local groups like the Tamil Tigers may
join the international terrorist network with its
global ambitions of destruction.
But dealing with terrorism is a complex matter, said
conference participants. Simple retaliation is not
always an answer, and may add to the problem. After
the destruction of two American embassies in Africa,
the United States retaliated by bombing terrorist
camps in Afghanistan, but mistakenly killed a group of
Pakistanis. Their comrades swore revenge.
Good intentions can lead to unintended results, said
Zachary Davis of the Congressional Research Service:
/// FIRST DAVIS ACT ///
Something that seems like a good idea initially
sometimes has consequences that were unforeseen
when we started down that path. In particular,
cooperating on counter-terrorism or counter drug
activities in regions of instability sometimes
has surprises in store for us that were not
considered in the initial planning.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Davis said one commitment, if not carefully
considered, can lead to another in a kind of mission
creep. It may seem humane, for example, to help
another country combat terrorism, said Mr. Davis. But
any enhancement of that country's military power may
alarm its neighbors and arouse more resentment of the
United States, perhaps creating more terrorists:
/// SECOND DAVIS ACT ///
It may not be an unqualified good to provide
technology or military-to-military assistance to
a government, even if it is for the purpose of
protecting citizens. The unintended consequences
of cooperating with a government to beat back or
contain insurgencies within their own borders
really comes with a price tag. What I am saying
is that we need to look at the price tag before
we buy.
/// END ACT ///
Dalton West of the U-S Defense Department said the
drug trade greatly complicates the battle against
terrorism. The Taleban faction, which now controls
most of Afghanistan, relies on heroin production
because the country's economy, including its
agriculture, has been wrecked by all the years of
warfare.
So Afghanistan attracts terrorists who thrive on the
drug traffic. Even so, said Mr. West, direct U-S
action is not likely to remove them:
/// FIRST WEST ACT ///
The moment we intervene, the nature of our
intervention transforms the struggle from being
the political or anti-drug or anti-terrorist
activity into being a struggle against an
invader. These problems, if they are to be
resolved at all, have to be resolved internally
where the United States plays an appropriate
role as an outside power, not as one which can
force a solution.
/// END ACT ///
The solution, said Mr. West, lies here in the United
States, where the consumption of illicit drugs is a
major problem. He believes a national campaign is
needed comparable to the one against cigarette
smoking:
/// SECOND WEST ACT ///
It is going to take long time. It is going to
have to involve almost every significant social
group from the American Medical Association to
the psychiatric associations to the schools to
the churches. This is a problem that will only
be resolved if and when we all decide that we
are going to stem it.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. West says Americans can deal a substantial blow to
terrorism by giving up their drug habit. (Signed)
NEB/ew/gm
27-Aug-1999 16:16 PM EDT (27-Aug-1999 2016 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
Source: Voice of America
.
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