U.S. Department of State

The events of 9/11 demonstrated the extent of the threat posed by international terrorism to the United States and U.S. citizens, both at home and abroad.  Al-Qaeda is present in more than sixty countries; several hundred affiliates are suspected to be in the United States alone.  The American people are painfully aware of the importance of USG efforts to combat international terrorism.  In the wake of the events of 9/11, the United States has launched a campaign against terrorism.  Although the war on terrorism began at home, the Department has taken the struggle worldwide.  The Secretary and senior Department officials have traveled to every corner of the globe to develop and sustain a coalition to fight terrorism on all fronts - diplomatic, military, intelligence, law enforcement, and financial.  The Department recognizes the need to combat terrorist networks where they exist and operate via the worldwide cooperation and coordination afforded by our coalition partners.  Efforts thus far have resulted in assistance from more than 180 states and territories in identifying, disrupting, and destroying international terrorist organizations; the worldwide capture of over 3,000 terrorist suspects; and the blocking of $120 million of terrorists' assets by over 160 foreign governments.  Through its proven ability to affect change and execute USG policy abroad, the Department is an important leader in the war on terrorism.

The Department engages with foreign governments to ensure that they have the political will to take strong, decisive action against terrorism.  While governments may have the political will to combat terrorism, they often lack the capability to act effectively.  The Department's training and assistance programs help other states build the capacity of their intelligence, law enforcement, and military communities to defeat terrorists operating on their soil.  At home, the Department has taken unprecedented action to coordinate all training and assistance provided by USG agencies.  As the lead federal agency to respond to terrorist-related incidents overseas, the Department has maintained its readiness to respond to international terrorist-related incidents affecting U.S. interests.  The Department's efforts not only ensure the safety of Americans abroad, but bolster the security of the U.S. homeland by effectively making the borders of America's friends and allies the first line of defense against terrorists. 

The United States relies on its foreign partners to protect U.S. citizens and interests overseas and prevent terrorists from reaching the U.S. homeland.  The Department expects that its continued bilateral engagement with key partners will ensure that counterterrorism remains at the top of the international political agenda in 2004.  Multilateral engagement with regional organizations such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the European Union (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Arab League will ensure that these organizations continue to press member states for action and coordination on counterterrorism.

The Department also expects that other states will have greater capacity to counter terrorism on their soil in 2004 due to Department-provided counterterrorism training and technical assistance.  Training and technical assistance programs augment the capability of recipient states to take strong, decisive action against terrorism by providing valuable skills, relevant support equipment and technical advice.  In 2004, the United States will serve as President of the G-8.  The Department expects that its chairmanship of the Counterterrorism (Rome) Experts Group will improve counterterrorism coordination and influence foreign partners having advanced counterterrorism skills to participate more in the capacity building effort. 

By 2004, Colombia will have a strengthened capacity to conduct counterterrorist operations against the three foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) operating in its territory.  The Southern Cone of South America, through the "3+1" mechanism (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, plus the United States), will be increasingly able to counter financial flows to terrorists in the region and will be less attractive as a safe haven for such illicit activities.  In addition, the Department expects the Inter-American Committee on Counterterrorism (CICTE) to strengthen its leadership in the region and that the organization be viewed as a model for regional counterterrorism efforts.

Through Department-coordinated technical assistance, the countries on the Arabian Peninsula will be better prepared to stop the financing of terrorism.  The Department also expects that throughout the Middle East, the close operational coordination among U.S. embassies will result in the capture of terrorists.

In East Asia, a dedicated counterterrorism police unit  will be operational in Indonesia, a regional counterterrorism center will be established in Malaysia, and assistance to the region, particularly Indonesia, will be coordinated among primary donors.  The police and security forces of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand will be able to conduct more effective counterterrorism operations, and nations throughout the region will have new or enhanced legislation to strengthen the legal basis for counterterrorist actions and related terrorist finance and money laundering investigations.

Due to the considerable amount of Department-sponsored training, the Caucasus and Central Asian states will have greater capacity to protect key sites (e.g., airports and government buildings), investigate terrorist incidents, and protect their borders from criminal and terrorist incursions.  Moreover, the Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) will bolster the Georgian Government's ability to go after terrorist elements in the Pankisi Gorge.

In South Asia, Pakistan, through its newly established National Counterterrorism Unit, will have a more thorough and coordinated approach to thwarting terrorist activities.  Afghanistan will continue to be an active partner in fighting remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda on its territory.  Through the Department's continued engagement with India, India will play a constructive role in resolving terrorist insurgencies in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

By 2004, the Department hopes to reduce the attractiveness of many African countries as potential terrorist transit points, safe havens, or targets.  As recipients of Department-provided training courses, Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia should exhibit higher levels of specialized skills to combat terrorism more effectively.  Likewise, border security is expected to improve in Niger, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania. 

In the multilateral arena, the Department expects to make significant progress in encouraging states to take action to implement UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373, which imposes binding obligations on all states to suppress and prevent terrorist financing, improve border controls, enhance information sharing and law enforcement cooperation, suppress terrorist recruitment, and deny terrorists safe haven. 

By 2004, it is anticipated that the UN Counterterrorism Committee (CTC) will have succeeded in motivating many, if not most, UN member states to establish the legislative and executive frameworks necessary for implementing their counterterrorism obligations under UNSCR 1373. 

While basic capacity building will continue in many "less able, but willing" states, the CTC should be actively promoting the cooperation of member states on bilateral, regional, and international levels; judicial cooperation among states; and an attack on the links between terrorism and other threats to security in the form of arms and drug trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering. 

Complete twenty-seven bilateral and multilateral CT consultations.

•         Maintain close cooperation and coordination with the governments of key partners to ensure that bilateral and multilateral exchanges continue at which U.S. officials and their counterparts further specific counterterrorism goals and priorities, share concerns, and overcome challenges.

•         Ensure that the counterterrorism engagement unit is adequately staffed.

•         Obtain adequate funding.

Conduct 210 ATA courses and 210 program reviews among 60 states.

Obtain adequate funding and trainers.

Maintain mobile training units to provide emergency training to police units in-country when a CT-related situation exists.

Establish counterterrorism priority states through the Department-chaired, interagency Training and Assistance Sub-Group.

Have 174 states report to the UN Security Council on their efforts to implement UNSCR 1373.

•         Work closely with the UN CTC.

•         Use bilateral and multilateral consultations to encourage states to submit reports.

In the wake of the events of 9/11, the President announced the start of an offensive against the financial foundation of the global terror network using every diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, and financial tool and channel available to influence to identify, disrupt, and dismantle terrorist financing networks.  Publicly designating terrorists and their supporters, freezing terrorists' assets and strengthening the financial, regulatory, and judicial sectors of vulnerable coalition partners play a critical role in this effort.

Domestically, the Department will continue to coordinate with the Departments of the Treasury and Justice to designate individuals and entities as supporters of terrorism under Executive Order 13224 and to designate foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in order to freeze the assets, stigmatize and isolate terrorists and their supporters internationally, deter donations and contributions to and economic transactions with them, and heighten public awareness and knowledge of terrorists, terrorist organizations and those who support them.  The Department will also work with the Department of Justice to designate groups under the Terrorism Exclusion List (TEL) so that individual aliens providing support to or associated with TEL-designated organizations may be found "inadmissible" to the United States or, if already in U.S. territory, may in certain circumstances be deported.

Internationally, the Department will continue to lead USG efforts to develop and sustain the bilateral and multilateral relationships, strategies and activities required to win international support for and cooperation with its efforts to combat terrorist financing.  The Department will continue to work with countries around the world to ensure the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373, which calls, among other things, for the freezing of terrorist assets.  The Department will also continue to actively encourage countries to submit names to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list of individuals and entities with links to al-Qaeda whose assets UN member states are obligated to freeze.  Those included in this list are also subject to arms bans and travel restrictions.  The 1267 Sanctions Committee's work is the most focused multilateral effort to combat the funding of terrorists and their supporters.

In addition to designations, the Department will work bilaterally with nations whose financial systems are vulnerable to abuse by terrorists and their supporters to reinforce those national institutions responsible for combating terrorist financing.  Such institutions include judicial, banking, regulatory, and law enforcement agencies.  Through Department-provided training and technical assistance, these agencies will be better equipped to identify, investigate and prosecute terrorist financing and other financial crimes.  This effort will impede terrorist financing from overseas before funds reach possible terrorist cells in the United States.  Multilaterally, the Department expects to work increasingly with international organizations such as the UN CTC and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, and regional bodies such as the OAS, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and APEC to detect, dismantle, and deter terrorist financing networks that transcend national borders.

 

Names of terrorist-related individuals and entities continue to be designated under E.O. 13224.

•         Active coordination with other U.S. Government agencies involved in combating terrorist financing.

•         Active bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to persuade other countries to also freeze the assets of those designated under E.O. 13224 and thereby increase the effectiveness and impact of U.S. action.

Names of al Qaeda-related targets continue to be added to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list.

• Lead the interagency process through which the USG develops and sustains bilateral and multilateral relationships, strategies and activities to win international support for and cooperation with our efforts to combat terrorist financing.

Foreign countries continue to submit names to the 1267 Sanctions Committee either independently or together with the U.S.

• Actively pursue bilateral and multilateral diplomacy focused on combating terrorist financing.

All FTO reviews completed; no new addition pending for more than four months.

Hire and/or assign more staff to the designations unit that review FTOs.

Utilize new secure on-line connections to facilitate interagency communications by those who review designations.

Seek legislative changes to streamline dealing with new aliases of a designated FTO and eliminating the redesignation requirement.

Five states that receive assistance to combat the financing of terrorists institute such measures through U.S. training and assistance programs.

Lead interagency financial systems assessment teams to assess each state's domestic institutions responsible for combating terrorist financing.

Develop training and assistance programs based on assessments.

Administer delivery of assistance by selecting and funding appropriate training providers.

• Obtain adequate funding.

The Department will continue to be ready to respond to terrorist-related incidents against U.S. citizens or interests anywhere in the world during 2004.  As the lead federal agency to respond to international terrorism-related crises, the Department heads the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST).  The FEST provides U.S. ambassadors at affected posts with advice, assistance, and assessments concerning terrorism-related issues ranging from preemptive operations to post-incident and disaster response.  The FEST serves as a coordination mechanism to handle the myriad interagency resources available to respond to acts of terrorism.  

Effective FEST operations require regular training exercises.  Exercises enhance the readiness of the FEST, USG agencies, U.S. embassies, and host governments to respond to an international counterterrorism-related crisis and provide a unique opportunity to develop and validate new operations-related counterterrorism policy.  As a result, the Department and the FEST coordinate and will participate during 2004 in two Combatant Commanders' National- and International-level counterterrorism exercises and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) sponsored a no-notice counterterrorism exercise.

Preventing and responding to terrorism also includes measures to develop technological solutions to specific counterterrorism problems and needs.  Terrorist operations continue to grow in technical sophistication and lethality as terrorist groups exploit the Internet, acquire and utilize commercially available technology, and conduct cooperative training activities.  In order to bolster the USG capacity to counter the growing threat, the Department will continue to lead the interagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), which conducts technology development in order to effectively combat advances in terrorists' methods.  In 2004, the TSWG will conduct rapid prototyping and development of counterterrorism technologies for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures; explosives detection and improvised device defeat; infrastructure protection; physical security; surveillance, collection and operations support; and tactical operations support.  In addition, the Department will continue its joint counterterrorism R&D projects with the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel to leverage funding and capitalize on technology developments by foreign partners with advanced R&D programs. 

The FEST participates in two national- and international-level counterterrorism exercises and the CJCS-sponsored, no-notice counterterrorism exercise.

•         Work closely with the Department of Defense and other USG agencies to develop an exercise scenario that reflects the current counterterrorism threat environment and ensure that it meets USG counterterrorism training requirements.

•         Liaise with U.S. embassy country teams and host nation officials to garner the will of other nations to participate; later, coordinate their participation in the exercises.

•         Participate in a year-long series of planning conferences to ensure that exercise planning/ preparation are on course and address any diplomatic/ political issues associated with the exercises.

•         Ensure that adequate staff are assigned to each exercise.

Complete 75 percent of currently funded TSWG research projects on time and within budget; increase the number of projects accepted by 5 percent.

•         Obtain adequate funding.

•         Work closely with Department of Defense co-chairs of the TSWG and interagency partners in order to identify the requirements of the counterterrorism community; present those requirements to industry, academia, and federal sources to bid project proposals; and evaluate proposals.

•         Prioritize proposals that are deemed acceptable and allocate funding accordingly.

•         Utilize cooperative R&D agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel to leverage funding contributions.

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