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[As printed in Vital Speeches of the Day, Vol. LXIX, No. 24, October 24, 2003.]
Israel, India, and the United States: A New Partnership Against Terrorism
By Thomas Neumann
Executive Director, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Delivered to the U.S. India Political Action Committee International Conference on Terrorism in India, Washington, D.C., July 17, 2003
Thank you for that very kind introduction. I'm delighted to be here with you today, with so many distinguished national security experts. I congratulate you on your very timely and exciting program. There is certainly no more important agenda than the one you have put before you.
The twenty-first century has begun in a most inauspicious way. It is not just September 11th and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, nearly one-fifth of the world's borders are in dispute. At this very moment, there are more than 40 international conflicts raging, and two-thirds of all the world's governments are authoritarian.
Already, the twenty-first century is significantly different than the twentieth.
Almost since the beginning of this century America has been at war. It is not a war of our choosing and it will not be a war of short duration. Jim Woolsey, the former director of the CIA, calls it the Fourth World War, the third World War being the Cold War.
We are at war because we are strong and also because we have been weak. As the sole superpower we are resented. Yet there also have been times when we have appeared weak: in Somalia, in Lebanon, in Tanzania and Kenya, and in the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
Misjudging our resolve, on September 11th the terrorists pushed the envelope considerably further Ð and they were surprised by our response. Newt Gingrich, who I believe is of the most astute observers of national security issues, defined the post-September 11th transformation in five different ways, as follows:
1) Globalization applies to national security. In other words "if we are not there, they will be over here."
2) The issues are non-negotiable. These people hate us and they feel good if we die.
3) Weapons of mass destruction change everything. We are dealing with a terrifying capacity to kill. It forces us to change our strategy from containment to preemption. The kind of devastation and destruction that once resulted from years of battle now can be unleashed in hours.
4) Islamist extremists are our strategic competitors and Al Qaeda is but a symptom.
5) The nature of the attacks on us can change dramatically. Our very strengths can become our weaknesses. A stadium holding 100,000 people becomes a target and an airplane becomes a lethal weapon.
Terrorism has become the enemy's choice for engaging us. Unlike traditional wars where the targets are military, the terrorist seeks out civilians. What Americans and Israelis call collateral damage is the primary objective of the terrorist. And it is a fact that most of these terrorists, although not all, are Islamists.
The countries that are number one on the terrorist hit list are Israel, India and the United States. That unfortunate commonality is what brings us together today.
All three countries are democracies. All three are robust and resilient and all three are open societies. It would therefore be a wise decision for these three countries to cooperate in their struggle against terrorism.
That is why JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, has been fostering trilateral cooperation between these countries. Last year JINSA sponsored a conference in New Delhi focusing on national security, intelligence and counterterrorism. Speakers included Dewey Clarridge, who created the CIA's counterterrorism center, a former Israel Defense Force chief of staff, the head of Israel's National Security Council, the former heard of counterterrorism at India's external intelligence service, the former head of Mossad and the former head of FBI counterterrorism.
Our objective in this conference was not academic but practical. Not only to have an exchange of ideas, which is always valuable in itself, but to set in motion a process of cooperation between these three democracies - a process of working together and exchanging both intelligence information and ideas. This is now happening. We are having the second conference this February in Israel. In a statement issued to the press after the New Delhi Conference, the conferees agreed that:
"The United States, India and Israel, as sister democracies and common victims of international terrorism, should pool their resources and experiences in dealing with this menace. We urge the creation of a trilateral governmental mechanism to promote cooperation and concerted action against terrorism, and we call on other like-minded nations to join us. At the same time, we conferees will continue to work together as a private organization informing the public, and influencing governments toward this goal.
"All three countries have been victims of terrorism. All three must have a common determination to oppose terrorism wherever it rears its head. And all three must take appropriate action against those who fund, incite, train, or give safe haven to terrorists. Since terrorism is an international menace, so our response must be international in character."
We are developing a new partnership against terrorism - a partnership with enormous potential.
The other program we are undertaking to counter terrorism is our Law Enforcement Exchange Program (LEEP). Israeli law enforcement is the world's most experienced in dealing with terrorism - due, unfortunately to its long and painful history of defending its citizens against acts of terror. By contrast, American law enforcement until September 11th had little experience with terrorism. Today our law enforcement people are required to be the first responders. The LEEP program brings together American law enforcement officials with their Israeli counterparts. So far, we have involved more than 7,000 senior law enforcement officials.
But the problem of terrorism goes far beyond Israel, India and the United States.
The Russians, who were among the originators of terrorism as a political vehicle, are now among its victims. While most acts of Chechen terrorism take place on Chechen soil, Moscow itself is not immune. Last October, you may recall, about 800 Russian theatergoers were taken hostage. When the crisis ended 129 of these innocent civilians were dead.
In Spain, Basque separatists continue their acts of terrorism against the Spanish government.
In Nepal, that tiny state in the Himalayas, it is estimated that 7,000 have been killed in a civil war. 5,000 died in the last 14 months alone.
In Afghanistan, where America was quick and decisive, it would be an error to assume that all is now well. Outside of Kabul the situation is still chaotic. The warlords are still in charge and armed.
Everybody is aware of what is happening in Iraq. We won the conventional war, but are still confronted with cowardly terrorist attacks on American soldiers. In the Philippines the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf is seeking to establish an Islamic state. There is evidence of links between Abu Sayyaf and Al Qaeda. Last October the terrorists were blamed for two bombings that killed and injured over 150 people.
In Indonesia, 200 people were killed in Bali by the radical group Jemaah Islamiah.
The list goes on. The countries in conflict are literally too numerous to mention. They are not just in Asia and the Middle East. They are in Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Terrorism is a factor everywhere. It is the system that the weaker side employs to compensate for its weakness. But no cause can justify the conscious slaughtering of innocents. In war there is collateral damage, but in terrorism the innocent are the target.
How can the civilized world respond to terrorism? How can we, as citizens? First and foremost - there can be no compromise with terrorism. It is often said that terrorism is built on hopelessness. I disagree. I believe that terrorism is built on hope - the hope that if they inflict enough suffering their opponents will make concession after concession to accommodate the terrorists' wishes.
This is why the events in the Middle East are so important to India, the United States and other victims of terrorism. If Israel can be forced to compromise as a result of Hamas or even Al Fatah activity, every terrorist in the world has been encouraged.
It can be argued that it was Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon that sparked the second intifada. The argument was that if Israel could not withstand the bloodshed and the loss of life in Lebanon, then at some point they would not be able to withstand the bloodshed and loss of life in Israel.
Every terrorist has a grievance - whether it is the Chechens, Al Qaeda or Hamas. One cannot legitimize the terrorism of one group and reject the terrorism of another group. If you can target Israeli civilians then you can target Indian civilians and you can also target Spanish civilians.
There are three kinds of terrorists - state-sponsored, groups unrelated to states and individuals or small groups with grievances.
In state-sponsored terrorism we must go after the sponsor, whether it be Iraq, Iran or Syria. There need to be consequences for sponsoring those who would kill and main the innocent.
And we have to remember that a single individual with a vial of bacteria can create an act of terror. John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo, the Washington snipers, were not traditional terrorists. But their actions demonstrated how two people, lone wolves, could terrorize a city.
The free world has to battle terrorism. That is why America's action against Iraq was justified and important. It sent a message.
Similar messages have to be sent to places like Saudi Arabia, which still finances most terrorist groups throughout the world. They are the financiers of madrassas that teach the gospel of hate. As you know, there is a growing feeling in Washington that we have been apologizing for the Saudis for too long.
Groups and cells are difficult but they can be penetrated. We must do so in order to try to save the next generation.
We need to be united, strong and unrelenting in our pursuit of terrorists - and unapologetic. Perhaps most of all, we need to be patient.
Until recently, it can be said, we lacked the political will to fight terrorism. September 11th changed that. Not just for the United States - but for every other national throughout the globe. Thank you.
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