16 October 2001
Text: U.S. Official on Fighting Terrorism in the Western Hemisphere
(Warns that al-Qaida network may have infiltrated the Americas) (2490)
The September 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington
vividly demonstrated that the countries of the Western Hemisphere are
"no longer safe from international terrorism," says Ambassador Francis
Taylor, coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of
State.
Appearing October 15 at the Organization of American States (OAS) to
brief diplomats on fighting terrorism in the region, Taylor said that
the United States has presented "clear and compelling evidence" to its
allies that the September 11 attacks "originated in Afghanistan, with
[suspected terrorist] Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization."
Yet "we must recognize that al-Qaida could not have carried out such
attacks -- planned over a period of years -- without relying on an
extensive support network around the world," he added. "That network
may include cells in some or many OAS member states," including the
United States.
Taylor also cited other international terrorist groups operating in
the Americas, noting that Islamic extremist organizations such as
Hizballah, al Gamaat (IG), HAMAS, and Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) all
"have a presence in this hemisphere," in addition to "the Basque
separatist group ETA and even the Irish Republican Army." He warned
that these groups, combined with guerrilla forces based in Colombia,
Peru, and elsewhere, "provide more proof that terrorism is a threat to
all of us."
In view of this reality, Taylor said, OAS member states must implement
a strategy "to eliminate international terrorist threats to citizens,
installations, and other interests." He declared that an effective
counterterrorist strategy has two clear-cut goals. The first goal, he
said, is to reduce the international terrorist threat by "disrupting
terrorist activities and preventing attacks," by "denying sanctuary to
terrorist groups," and by "improving capabilities for combating
terrorism."
And "the second goal," which Taylor said was "crucial," is for OAS
member states "to leverage their capabilities in the fight against
terrorism via cooperation with other member states." For "by sharing
tools and capabilities, we gain the strength of our neighbors," he
observed.
Building and sustaining international cooperation is essential,
because "we simply cannot fight terrorism alone," he said. Taylor
indicated that "the specific tools we call upon" to resist terrorism
can include such mechanisms as diplomacy, intelligence cooperation,
law enforcement cooperation, legislative and judicial measures, border
controls, financial controls, training programs, United Nations
conventions, agreed-upon methods that experts refer to as "best
practices," and counterterrorism workshops.
He stressed the importance of public diplomacy, and argued that a free
press "is the best way to expose terrorists to the light of public
scrutiny." Taylor pointed out that his own office "publishes a
document entitled 'Patterns of Global Terrorism' each year" in hopes
of alerting the public to the objectives, trends and criminal
activities of terrorist groups.
In conclusion, Taylor reminded his audience that effective
counterterrorism requires political will, a policy framework, trained
forces, and reliance upon the rule of law. "I thank the member states
of the OAS for their solidarity" in the fight against terrorism, he
said, "and I welcome the opportunity to work with you in the months
ahead."
Following is the text of his remarks, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Statement of Ambassador Francis X. Taylor
Coordinator for Counterterrorism
U.S. Department of State
Before the Inter-American Counterterrorism Committee
Of the Organization of American States (OAS)
October 15, 2001
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Mr. Secretary-General, Members of the OAS:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on the
subject of terrorism, and what we in the Americas and the Caribbean
can do about it. I would also like to take a moment to thank Secretary
General Gaviria and the OAS member states for their strong support and
expressions of solidarity with the United States over the last 34
days.
The horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on
September 11, just one month ago, were a reminder that our hemisphere
is no longer safe from international terrorism. In this global era,
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans can no longer protect our land and our
people from violence, as they have done in previous international
conflicts.
As you know, the United States has presented to our coalition partners
around the world clear and compelling evidence that the September 11
attacks originated in Afghanistan, with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida
organization.
We must recognize that al-Qaida could not have carried out such
attacks -- planned over a period of years -- without relying on an
extensive support network around the world. That network may include
cells in some or many OAS member states, including the U.S.
Moreover, al-Qaida is but one of many terrorist organizations with
extensive international networks. International organizations
operating in this hemisphere include Islamic extremist organizations
such as Hizballah, al Gamaat (IG), HAMAS, and Egyptian Islamic Jihad
(EIJ); the Basque separatist group ETA and even the Irish Republican
Army also have a presence in this hemisphere.
These groups -- when combined with terrorist groups based in the
Americas such as the FARC, Shining Path, and others -- provide more
proof that terrorism is a threat to all of us.
In fact, one can argue that modern terrorism originated in our
hemisphere. We date the advent of modern terrorism from 1968, four
years before Munich, when revolutionary movements began forming
throughout the Americas. The following year, in 1969, the first
terrorist kidnapping of an American ambassador took place when
Ambassador Burke Elbrick was taken hostage in Brazil by members of two
revolutionary groups. In those early years of the still-new
phenomenon, Latin America saw more international terrorist attacks
than any other region.
Our goal, therefore, must be to eliminate international terrorist
threats to citizens, installations, and other interests.
Our strategy to do this has three main facets:
-- Disrupt terrorist activities to prevent attacks
-- Deny sanctuary to terrorist groups
-- Bolster our capabilities for combating terrorism
There is growing recognition within the international community as to
what terrorism is -- and is not. This recognition is reflected in U.N.
international conventions as well as in an OAS convention from 1973.
Kidnapping, hijacking and other terrorist actions that had been
justified or excused as "political" are now labeled for what they
really are -- criminal actions. Terrorism, we hope, is becoming
de-politicized and recognized for what it truly is -- criminal
behavior.
Leaving the policy of terrorism for a moment, let me speak for a
moment about terrorism strategy.
The fight against international terrorism is more than 30 years old,
and in that 30 years we have learned the hard way what works to combat
terrorism effectively.
Our strategy has two clear-cut goals:
-- The first is to reduce the international terrorist threat by:
1. Disrupting terrorist activities and preventing attacks
2. Denying sanctuary to terrorist groups
3. Improving capabilities for combating terrorism
-- The second goal -- the goal I view as crucial to this body -- is to
get OAS member states to leverage their capabilities in the fight
against terrorism via cooperation with other member states. By sharing
tools and capabilities, we gain the strength of our neighbors.
Moving from the larger goals, I'd like to speak for a moment about
specific steps. Again calling on 30 years of fighting terrorism, we
have a good idea now of what works and what does not.
The first order of business is to separate light from darkness, the
good guys from bad guys. One thing that sets the two sides apart is
the "rule of law." Criminals operate outside the law, and it is at
times tempting to fight them with the same tools that they use, but in
the end this brings us down to their level. The rule of law is not
always the fastest approach, but it is the best.
The second key to is to build and sustain international cooperation.
We simply cannot fight international terrorism alone.
Next, on the domestic side of things, reducing the friction between
agencies is key. For example, it is crucial to build an
information-sharing link between the police and military units that
fight terrorists. This coordination must be undertaken by senior
officials who can provide firm direction to the effort, and settle
conflicts when they arise.
Moving from what works, generally speaking, I would like to tell you
about a set of counterterrorism measures -- or "tools," as I like to
call them -- that you can call upon.
The specific tools we call upon can include:
-- Diplomacy
-- Intelligence cooperation
-- Law enforcement cooperation
-- Legislative and judicial measures
-- Border controls
-- Financial controls
-- Training programs
-- U.N. conventions
-- Best practices
-- Terrorism workshop
DIPLOMACY
The diplomatic tools at your service may be your most effective ones.
Bilateral diplomacy with your key neighbors is of utmost importance.
We in the U.S. have a long-term CT {counterterrorism) relationship
with Canada, and we wish to explore a similar partnership with Mexico.
I urge all of you to ask yourselves how you could improve or broaden
the level of cooperation with your neighbors.
Public diplomacy is a vital tool. A free press such as that enjoyed in
Colombia -- at the cost of far too many journalists' lives -- is the
best way to expose terrorists to the light of public scrutiny. My
office publishes a document entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism"
each year in the hopes of doing the same thing.
The multilateral fora provide an excellent way to promote mechanisms
to punish terror groups and the nations that harbor them. The U.N.,
OAS and CICTE, the OAU and others come to mind. For the effectiveness
of these fora, look no further than U.N. Security Council Resolutions
1333 targeting [the] Taliban regime and Resolution 1373 providing
broad license to fight al-Qaida.
INTELLIGENCE
Your next tool is intelligence. Intelligence is nothing more than
refined information. Without the right information, the fight against
terrorists is impossible. Calling again upon your relations with your
neighbors and allies, I point at that cooperation [which] builds
capabilities. Bilateral service-to-service information sharing can
have a direct security payoff. We in the U.S. saw this when
cooperation with Jordan led directly to prevention of a massive terror
plot last year -- the Millennium plot.
I also urge that you explore sub-regional intelligence cooperation --
for example, among Andean region countries or the Mercosur bloc.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
As important as intelligence cooperation is law enforcement
cooperation. The investigation of [the] August 1998 bombings of U.S.
embassies in East Africa is an example of significant recent
cooperation. Kenya and Tanzania both worked with us, providing joint
access to crime scene and evidence. This early cooperation eliminated
legal complications and sped up prosecution, successfully concluded
earlier this year. Such cooperation has side benefits as well:
investigators share techniques and approaches.
Bad laws or lack of enforcement can be exploited by terrorists.
Good laws are a deterrent to terrorism and the lesser crimes committed
by terrorist groups.
Laws must be consistently implemented by judicial systems. Terrorists,
like narco-traffickers, often use money to weaken judicial systems.
Eliminating corruption in the judiciary makes all criminals less like
to reside where they know they will be effectively prosecuted.
Your goal is not to make it impossible for terrorists to do their
business, but to make it as difficult as possible.
BORDER CONTROL
I understand that the OAS and CICTE may also create a subcommittee on
border control issues. I want to encourage that effort. Speaking from
experience, the world's longest non-militarized border is that shared
by the U.S. and Canada, and the second longest is that shared by the
U.S. and Mexico. Since the inception of NAFTA, these borders that were
already the world's busiest, in terms of commerce, have become even
busier.
An international cooperative effort to reduce the ability of
terrorists to move across key borders is crucial. We know that we will
never have perfect knowledge of every person and every vehicle that
crosses these borders.
Therefore, we in the U.S. know that we must work hand-in-hand with
intelligence, law enforcement, customs, and immigration officials in
Mexico, Canada, as well as the Central American and Caribbean states
-- the U.S. "third border."
Some of the tools your work group may discuss include:
-- Identification programs
-- Training for customs and immigration officials
-- INTERPOL communications system upgrade
FINANCIAL CONTROLS
Your agenda also tells me you intend to discuss financial controls and
create a subcommittee on financial flows. Cutting off terrorists'
access to funds is a sure way to limit their success. I support your
efforts. An international effort to reduce the ability of terrorists
to move money can concentrate on: banking programs, asset tracking,
etc.
TRAINING
When it comes to increasing the capabilities the forces that fight
terrorism, there is no faster path to success than via training. I
hope that a key objective of CICTE will be to facilitate the sharing
of training expertise and resources among member states.
This is a matter of doing what we do best. For example, my office
relies upon "Antiterrorism Assistance" (ATA) -- by which we provide
assistance in areas where we believe we have expertise.
BEST PRACTICES
I hope that CICTE will also be a clearinghouse for what experts refer
to as "best practices." We learn from experience in responding to
terrorist bombings, shootings, hijackings, etc. For example, the G-8
guidelines on hostage-taking are based on the experience of G8 member
states. These shared guidelines include key principles: save lives of
hostages; oppose concessions; uphold rule of law. These principles
also cover policy coordination, operational cooperation, information
sharing, media relations, and family welfare. My hope is that CICTE
will be able to do something similar for OAS countries.
TERRORISM WORKSHOPS
Still on the topic of training, I want to take a moment now to offer a
service to CICTE. My office would like to provide, over the months and
years ahead, a series of terrorism workshops.
The goal of these one-day sessions is to improve crisis response and
consequence management capabilities of key government officials and
diplomats. We have already conducted workshops conducted in 10
countries, but none yet in this hemisphere.
Therefore, on behalf of my government, I wish to propose a series of
U.S.-funded workshops to take place in conjunction with CICTE Regular
and Special Sessions, beginning with the next regularly scheduled
CICTE session.
CLOSING REMARKS
In closing, I remind you that effective counterterrorism requires:
-- political will
-- a policy framework
-- trained forces
-- and reliance upon the rule of law
I wish you the best of luck on your special session today. I thank the
member states of the OAS for their solidarity, and I welcome the
opportunity to work with you in the months ahead.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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