11 May 2006
Counterterrorism Efforts in South Asia Must Be Collaborative
State's Crumpton says annual terrorism report will be even better next year
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States must work collaboratively along the Afghan-Pakistan border to deny safe haven to terrorists, State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Henry Crumpton told a U.S. congressional subcommittee May 11.
Crumpton said Pakistan must do more along its border and that Afghanistan also has a key role to play. “It has to be a collaborative effort,” he told members of the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation during testimony May 11 about the State Department’s annual terrorism report. (See related article.)
Crumpton, who just returned from visiting both countries, said Pakistan is a key ally in the counterterrorism effort against al-Qaida, having deployed 80,000 troops to its border, but it needs to do more to rebuild tribal structures and authorities there.
Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the subcommittee, commended Crumpton for speaking bluntly to the Pakistanis during his trip to South Asia. But he questioned the upbeat assessment of Pakistan’s counterterrorism effort in the congressionally mandated Country Reports on Terrorism 2005.
Crumpton pointed to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s recently announced three-point military, economic and political strategy for improving the situation along the border. He also said Pakistan has suffered the loss of hundreds of soldiers while waging war against al-Qaida and Taliban forces.
A key U.S. effort will be bringing Pakistan and Afghanistan closer together to cooperate in counterterrorism initiatives, the U.S. counterterrorism coordinator said.
Speaking more broadly, Crumpton said the global war against terrorism is about creating a civilized global society. He also said this war must be based more on trust and interdependency rather than “than bullets and bombs.”
TERRORIST FINANCE, WESTERN HEMISPHERE ISSUES
Crumpton also told lawmakers that the Saudi government and some of the Gulf States are working to ensure that aid funds are not used to fund terrorist organizations. Crumpton said he met recently with government officials from the United Arab Emirates, who told him they no longer send money to the newly elected Palestinian government, led by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. (See related article.)
Asked for his assessment of Sudan, Crumpton said the Sudanese government has made good strides in terms of counterterrorism, but Sudan will remain on the State Department’s terrorism list because of the ongoing violence in Darfur.
In the Western Hemisphere, Crumpton said, Colombia is making excellent progress in its counterterror efforts, but noted the 10,000 newly disarmed United Self-Defense Forces (AUC) fighters there need help in finding employment. He said Peru continues to make some progress in combating terrorism, but faces great challenges in dealing with counternarcotics issues. And Panama, he said, must do more to stop the mobility of terrorists passing through its territory. Crumpton also said he expects to see progress soon regarding Peruvian border patrolling efforts.
Royce also questioned the assessment of Mexican border security policies and practices in the department’s terrorism report as being too positive. Crumpton said controlling borders poses a broad national security challenge and he pointed to a recent initiative by the departments of State and Homeland Security designed to increase intelligence cooperation on border crossings with Mexico. (See related article.)
Russell Travers, of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), testified with Crumpton. He said he sees a trend in this year’s analysis pointing toward more attacks on telecommunications facilities and oil pipelines.
He also said the number of fatalities associated with attacks in Iraq grew from around 1,700 in 2004 to about 3,400 in 2005. (See related article.)
For more information about U.S policy, see Response to Terrorism.
Full text of the terrorism report is available on the State Department Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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