Homeland Security Begins Overseas

Good evening. It is my pleasure to talk with you this evening on the George Washington University campus. In fact, my daughter is currently a sophomore here. I would like to discuss the State Department’s role in homeland security, counterterrorism, and my view on the evolution of global terrorism since 9/11.

The State Department has a crucial role to play in the Administration’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and our objective is straightforward. I define terrorism as the indiscriminant use of violence on innocent civilians to achieve political objectives. The State Department, as the U.S. diplomatic corps, contributes to the national security strategy by working to create an international environment where we can make the option of terrorism unacceptable as a method to achieve political goals. Despite our status as the world’s only superpower, the struggle against terrorism is too great for us to defeat alone. We need the help of the international community to be successful. The President recognized the global enemy and shortly after 9/11, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American people, he called on the world to join the United States in using our military, diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence, and financial capabilities to defeat those responsible for the 9/11 attacks and their supporters. Unilateral or purely military approaches are not always feasible, such as in East Africa. If we were to address militarily the issues of terrorism everywhere in the world, we would be overextended. Thus, a viable strategy for counterterrorism is to make countries our partners and work with them to raise their capabilities so that threats of terrorism are confronted and defeated locally. We must also encourage them to improve border security. It is also essential to create and sustain the political will within governments and societies to adhere to long-term counterterrorism policies.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that our diplomats are on the front lines in the war on terror. Diplomacy prepares the battle space for elements of national power to step in to fight this global war. Our national power is harnessed not only in military capability, but also in law enforcement, intelligence, financial, and diplomatic resources.

How do diplomats prepare the battle space? We at Department of State have the unique and vital tools of diplomacy, such as bilateralism, multilateralism, and coalition building (meaning the cultivation of global partnerships). These tools allow us to use international organizations and their capabilities to fight terrorism internationally. In the wake of 9/11, we sought the invocation of multilateral self-defense mechanisms from various international organizations, including the Rio Treaty and NATO Article 5. Other multilateral fora include the European Union, the G-8, ASEAN, the OAS, the OAU, and the UN. These organizations adopted constructive resolutions such as UN Security Council Resolution 1373 in support of the global fight against terrorism and took substantive steps to enhance information sharing and tighten border security.

Capacity building represents another facet of diplomacy on the front lines. By capacity building, I am referring to the bolstering of our partners’ capacity to fight terrorism and to encourage their political will. For example, the State Department’s Antiterrorism Assistance Program provides law enforcement and security training to foreign governments. Congress has affirmed this need as we have seen the budget grow from $39 million in 2001 to $190 in 2004.

Most importantly, the importance of international law cannot be understated. It is our greatest asset to overcome the threat of terrorism. I do not buy the argument that the law enforcement approach to the global war on terror is ineffective—because a military approach alone cannot get to every potential terrorist. Terrorists need to be apprehended and brought to justice. This complements our other elements of national power and ensures that these criminals face appropriate justice for their crimes.

Allow me to shift a bit and address how terrorism represents a transforming threat to the United States. We have seen three fundamental changes in al-Qa’ida and the global war on terror. First, I believe there has been a shift from al-Qa’ida towards the broader phenomenon of what I call the “-ism” Islamic extremism. The organization known as al-Qa’ida as it was structured after 9/11 no longer exists. What is becoming more dangerous to national security is the extension of al-Qa’ida’s anti-American message to fight the secular world and institute fundamentalist Islamic rule. Just as previous generations had to fight Fascism and Communism, Islamic extremism is a political ideology that poses a broader and more dangerous threat to the world.

Second, we have witnessed a shift by terrorists towards attacking soft targets. As a government we must defend more than our national institutions and their representations abroad, such as military installations and embassies. We also work to assure the security of Americans traveling overseas and of American businesses operating abroad.

Finally, the technological phenomenon of the 21st Century has created global linkages among local events that terrorists can exploit. For example, extremists in the Middle East can transmit their political ideology to Muslim populations on the other side of the world, fostering global unrest and insecurity. Isolated terrorist events can be instantly circulated worldwide and are thus witnessed internationally. Illicit terrorist financing can be obscured through complex international transactions. Terrorism poses a truly global threat.

In conclusion, allow me to restate that domestic security, or national security, begins overseas with coalition building, capacity building, multilateral fora, and international law. Domestic security does not exist only within our physical borders, but rather it requires the conjunction of multiple efforts and factors working here and abroad. Terrorism as a phenomenon is a fluctuating one that requires our adaptability. The Department of State is an active player, committed to adapting to the challenge on every level.

I would be happy to answer your questions.