Helping Other Countries Counter Terrorism
By Michael B. Kraft
    
Submitted to: Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International
Vol. 14, No.2 Summer 2008
 

As Congress slowly proceeds with its work this year on the Bush Administration's
last budget, officials and private citizens who are concerned about the terrorism threat should keep in mind that two themes are often sounded in U.S. government statements on the international terrorism threat but often are overlooked in practice. 

One theme is "International cooperation is essential to fighting international terrorism."
For decades, and administration after administration, this has been a constant theme running through the U.S. Government's policy statements and testimony on countering terrorism. Normally this is perceived as including close working relationships with allies, exchanges of intelligence information, "best practices" and cooperating in apprehending terrorists and bringing them to trial.

The second theme emerged with the Bush Administration's frequent statements aimed at justifying the war in Iraq effect is that "we have to fight the terrorists overseas before they can hit us at home."
 
The first theme is widely accepted by counterterrorism experts in the U.S. and abroad. The second theme is regarded by many as rhetoric, part of the effort by President Bush and Vice President Chaney to suggest that Iraq was involved with Al Qaeda's 9/11 attack on New York City and the Pentagon.

Whether or not one accepts both themes, there are very important related important programs to help improve international cooperation and provide specific assistance to counter terrorism overseas. The programs train and improve the capabilities of counterterrorism officials and practitioners in friendly countries. They are among the little known day-to-day tools used in the efforts to counterterrorism, along with intelligence gathering and cooperation, diplomacy, economic sanction, arresting and prosecuting terrorists and military actions when appropriate.

These training programs are wide ranging, literally from the ground up, such as training dogs to sniff out explosives to training airport control tower operators in dealing with aircraft hijacking situations. The U.S. trainers can include experts in detecting the flow of funds to terrorists, swat team instructors and lawyers training foreign prosecutors and sometimes even helping draft legislation.

A number of U.S. government agencies are involved: the State Department, the Justice Department and FBI, the Defense Department, CIA. Most of the programs are bi-lateral, with U.S teams going overseas to provide training and seminars, or the foreign participants coming to the United States. The classes can last from a week to more than a month, depending on the nature of the course.  In recent years, assistance efforts also have been extended on a regional basis and even multilateral, by trying to assist efforts through the United Nations and international regional bodies and training centers.

The majority of the programs pre-date 9/11 and already were being modified in the 1990's, especially after the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

To illustrate these efforts, this article will highlight three important civilian (and unclassified) programs aimed at bolstering the capabilities of foreign allies:

* The State Department's Antiterrorism Training Assistance (ATA) program, which began a quarter century ago and a smaller related programs of more recent vintage.

* The interagency program to counterterrorism financing (CTF), which began after the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and

* The Justice Department's Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (DOJ/OPDAT program which began in 1991--- to help develop and sustain effective criminal justice systems in developing countries.

BACKGROUND

Under a series of Presidential Directives, the State Department has been designated as the lead federal agency for coordinating, supporting, developing and implementation all U.S. Government policies and programs aimed at countering terrorism overseas. The day-to-day work is led by the State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, who has the rank of an Ambassador and an Assistant Secretary of State. The current coordinator is Ambassador Dell L. Dailey who previously was an Army Lieutenant General and Director of the Center for Special Operations (CSO), U.S. Special Operations Command.

As part of the Coordinator's functions, S/CT provides policy guidance to the State Department's Antiterrorism Training Assistance Program while the program is implemented by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS). This split function was legislated by Congress in 1985, partly on the theory that S/CT should be a policy office and not bogged down in running major programs, and partly because the DS Regional Security Officers stationed at each embassy and charged with the embassy protection maintain contacts with local law enforcement agencies.

THE ANTITERRORISM TRAINING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The ATA program, which was launched in 1983, is the premier and largest U.S. government program for assisting other countries strengthen their capabilities to counter terrorism.  In addition to teaching skills in a variety of subjects and countries, the ATA program also helps develop personal contacts between U.S. officials and law enforcement officials of local government that can be helpful in deterring or dealing with potential terrorist attacks against the host country or U.S. facilities on their soil.

These foreign security and law enforcement personnel have the primary responsibility to respond to and mitigate the impact of terrorist attacks that take place in their nations. The ATA program indirectly helps Americans traveling or living abroad, as it is the responsibility of the host countries to protect persons on their soil. The U.S. cannot have policeman on the corners of countries that are frequently visited by Americans.

Most ATA program recipients are developing nations lacking human and other resources needed to maintain an effective antiterrorism program and infrastructure. The United States, often through the ATA program, also provides special assistance when requested by host countries in advance of major events, such as the international Olympic Games or other major athletic events.

Under the basic division of responsibility, S/CT provides guidance in determining which countries should take part in ATA training and the timing priorities -for example if the nature of the threat requires that one country be given priority over another in allocating training slots. The policy decisions are supposed to draw from the assessments that State Department-led teams of experts from various agencies make of the country's specific needs.

The assessment team will frequently meet with senior government and police officials, visit various units, talk to members of the police, and witness capabilities demonstrations in order to determine the type of training and equipment the country will need to meet its particular terrorist threat. A recent Government Accounting Office (G.A.O) report to Congress (GAO Report 08-336 dated February, 2008) criticized S/CT, however, for not providing more detailed guidance and priorities to the DS/ATA training office. The report also indicted that DS/ATA does not fully utilize the assessment team reports in planning and scheduling its courses.

 DS/ATA develops the curriculum and schedules the training courses. The Diplomatic Security bureau uses its own training experts as well as those from other U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, police associations, and private security firms and consultants, depending on the subject matter. For example, The FBI and local police departments have often provided instructors for hostage negotiations courses.

In FY 2006, the ATA program offered 289 courses and technical consultations. The courses ranged from more traditional courses such as Explosive Incidents Countermeasures, training dogs and their handlers to detect explosives, VIP protection, port security, and hostage negotiations. More recently developed courses include investigating cyber terrorism and hospital management for WMD mass casualty incidents. The ATA "first responder" program mirrors the U.S. Government's domestic program.  ATA officials say that as much as possible, the training and equipment will be the same as that provided to first responders in the United States.

Depending on the courses, OPDAT can also draw experts in the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other agencies such as the Treasury Department.  In addition, OPDAT sometimes also works with non- government organizations, such as the American Bar Association and the National Association of District Attorneys.

In FY 2007, OPDAT had 43 Resident Legal Advisors in 30 countries. RLAs are experienced federal or state prosecutors stationed in a host country for at least one year where they provide full-time advice and technical assistance in establishing fair and professional justice sector institutions and practices. Depending upon the country, RLA's may help host country officials assess their legislation and sometimes even provide drafting assistance. OPDAT also conducts discrete short and mid-term assistance programs, ranging from one week to six months, which focus on a specific aspect of criminal justice.

These are implemented by Intermittent Legal Advisors (ILAs), who like the RLAs, are experienced federal or state prosecutors. In FY 2007, OPDAT conducted 466 assistance programs involving 77 countries and managed over $45 million in State Department and USAID funding. 
 
The primary partners for funding in the State Department are the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, working with the DS/ATA program and the Bureau of International Law and Narcotics (INL.) In effect, DOJ/ODAT is the implementation arm for State Department efforts to bolster the legal systems in other countries that are partners in countering terrorism and organized crime.

PENNY WISE POUND FOOLISH Despite the importance of the counterterrorism programs and the White House rhetoric that we must fighting terrorists overseas before they can hit us at home, OMB and Congress have often cut the State Department's budget requests, even after 9/11. According to my information and calculations OMB cut the State Department's request by around 10 or 11 per cent in the first few years after 9/11. 

The Congressional Appropriations committee, then typically made additional cuts of about 10 per cent with little discussion and no challenges on the House or Senate floor. The cuts appear to be almost mechanical, with the figures arrived at by comparing the new figures with the previous year's budget rather than looking closely at the priority requirements for the future.

As the U.S. budget goes, the programs are hardly a blip. The cost is far less than current estimated cost ($361 million per copy) of one new F-22 jet fighter plane.

Perhaps that is one reason these low profile and non-glamorous programs get short shrift in the White House, OMB and Congress. The dollar amount is below the horizon line and the programs seldom attract press publicity. They embody, however, the hard work of fighting terrorism, training law enforcement officers, checking passports and visa, examining financial transaction records. 

The ATA program alone can pay for itself by preventing major terrorist attacks, and ATA trained personnel have thwarted or help mitigate the effects of a number of attacks. If Congress and the next Administration are serious about trying to prevent future terrorist attacks against American citizens and interests, they need to pay attention to the details and support funding of these nuts and bolts programs. And they need to do this consistently, not just after a major terrorist event.

Mr. Kraft is a counterterrorism consultant and a retired State Department official, having served 19 years in the State Department Office of Counterterrorism. He also served ten years as a Congressional staff foreign policy specialist including four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He is the co-author of a recent reference work "The Evolution of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy," Praeger/Greenwood Press, December 2007. Mr. Kraft has contributed to other counterterrorism books and is a contributor to The Counterterrorism Blog.
 

This is a full version of the article published in the latest Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security Int'l.
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