Counterterrorism Newsletter: July-October 2006

Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Periodic Newsletter
July-October 2006

Message from the Coordinator

Welcome to the first of our newsletters produced by the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT). Our purpose is to highlight S/CT's activities that may be of interest to you. This summer, the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel underscored the enduring threat that Hezbollah and other terrorist groups pose. As explosions in Mumbai, the disrupted airline plot in the UK, and the failed attempt of terrorists in Germany demonstrate, terrorism remains a global threat with global consequences.

The fifth anniversary of the September 11^th attacks, which took the lives of citizens from more than 90 countries, provided another stark reminder of the threat. In the 5 years since that tragic day, the U.S. has forged deep partnerships across the international community. U.S. interagency country teams, led by Ambassadors, in concert with our foreign partners, are leading the fight against terrorism in all corners of the world. I hope this newsletter will inform you, as well as advance our collective, interagency programs against the enemy. I welcome your comments on our activities, and I urge you to share this newsletter with your colleagues.

Working with International Partners:

• Deputy Coordinator Virginia Palmer and Chief Strategist Dr. David Kilcullen traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan in late June to meet with Embassy Country Teams, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and senior Afghan and Pakistani officials.
• Ambassador Crumpton and the Foreign Minister of Pakistan discussed our counterterrorism efforts during the FM's visit to Washington. Ambassador Crumpton also met with the visiting Swiss Minister of Justice and other key international partners here in Washington, as well as with partners in Germany and Switzerland.
• September 18-24: Ambassador Crumpton met with foreign leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
• September 27-28: Ambassador Crumpton led an interagency delegation to Ottawa for the U.S.-Canada Bilateral Consultative Group meeting, designed to strengthen our bilateral counterterrorism cooperation.
• October 23-25: Ambassador Crumpton led an interagency delegation to Tokyo for U.S.-Australia-Japan trilateral discussions.
• October 24-26: Virginia Palmer participated in an interagency delegation to Colombia to discuss the future of Plan Colombia, the fight against the narco-terrorist FARC, and efforts to recover the three American hostages held by the FARC since February 13, 2003.
• October 31: Virginia Palmer chaired counterterrorism discussions with the EU Troika, focusing on Iranian support for terrorism, the PKK, bioterrorism, and countering radicalization.

S/CT Highlights

• Regional/Trans-Regional Directorate:
  • Regional Strategic Initiative: The Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) is a program designed to develop flexible regional networks of interconnected Country Teams. The key is to put the emphasis on the field, where we can have the greatest impact on the enemy. S/CT is working with Ambassadors and interagency representatives in key terrorist theaters of operation to assess the threat and devise collaborative strategies, actionable initiatives and policy recommendations. Over the past several months, there have been RSI strategy sessions with embassies in Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, Iraq and the surrounding region, and East Africa, particularly focusing on Somalia.
    • June 18 Eastern Mediterranean RSI strategy session: Frank Urbancic met with Chiefs of Mission from the region and senior Washington-based officials from across the USG to discuss a strategy for dealing with Hezbollah, the PKK and the al-Qaida network in the region.
    • October 3 Southeast Asia RSI strategy session: Ambassador Crumpton hosted U.S. Ambassadors from the region, the interagency Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG), military officials and representatives from other USG agencies. Leveraging economic resources to combat terrorism through the public-private partnership was a focal point of the meeting. Participants also discussed new means to counter physical and ideological safe havens.
  • Designation: On July 21, the State Department designated Abu Sufian Al-Salamabi Muhammed Ahmed 'Abd Al-Razziq (Abousofian Abdelrazik) under Executive Order 13224 for posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals and the national security. This action complements Treasury's designation for his provision of administrative and logistical support to al-Qaida.
  • In August, the owner of a satellite television transmission company in New York was arrested for including access to al-Manar broadcasts in the company's satellite television service. Al-Manar, part of Hezbollah's media group, was placed on the Terrorist Exclusion List in 2004 and designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" entity in March 2006. This arrest demonstrates that the useful role that the designations regime can play in counterterrorism efforts.
• Programs Directorate:
  • S/CT worked closely with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) over the summer to produce an interagency implementation plan for the President's National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and ensure the plan reflects a focus on the field. S/CT will continue to lead State Department efforts to identify programs and strategies to implement the President's priorities.
  • Deputy Coordinator Jerry Feierstein traveled to Cyprus to assist in the massive evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon.
  • In March and May, the U.S. signed agreements with Singapore and Australia to do joint research and development for innovative solutions that utilize technology to fight terrorism through the interagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). These two nations join the U.K., Canada, and Israel, with whom we also have cooperative counterterrorism technology development agreements. In May, June, August and October, S/CT led interagency TSWG delegations in cooperative technology development meetings with Australia, Canada, Singapore and the U.K., respectively.
  • The S/CT Programs Directorate chaired regularly scheduled interagency reviews of USG programs and initiatives intended to support the field leadership of the various RSIs.
• Homeland Security Directorate:
  • At the June Homeland Security Coordinating Committee (HSCC) meeting, State Department, USAID, and FEMA representatives provided an update of the Katrina Lessons Learned process and the status of the foreign affairs-related recommendations. In October, the HSCC meeting focused on terrorist watch-listing and screening with representatives from the NCTC, the Terrorist Screening Center, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center. (Chaired by S/CT, the HSCC is a Departmental body with representation from bureaus and offices with homeland security responsibilities. Membership in the HSCC is open-ended. The Committee provides a regular forum for information exchange and promotes communication and coordination on homeland security matters within the Department.)
• Operations Directorate:
  • An S/CT officer arrived in Baghdad to lead the interagency Office of Hostage Affairs (OHA) at the Embassy in Baghdad. The OHA coordinates the interagency response to kidnappings in Iraq and reports directly to the Deputy Chief of Mission.
  • S/CT led interagency Foreign Emergency Support Teams (FEST) in August to assist our overseas missions in Jerusalem and Abuja, Nigeria. Their efforts contributed to the release of the American and New Zealand FOX journalists kidnapped in Jerusalem, as well as two Americans and one British citizen kidnapped in Nigeria.

Congressional Hearings:

• July 13: Principal Deputy Coordinator Frank Urbancic testified on "Venezuela: Terrorism Hub of South America?" before the HIRC Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation. (See: www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2006/68968.htm.)
• September 28: Frank Urbancic testified on "Hezbollah's Global Reach" before the HIRC Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. (See: www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2006/73352.htm.)

• July 13: Ambassador Crumpton addressed both the Denver World Affairs Council and the Denver Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors.
• July 18: Deputy Coordinator Susan Burk addressed the "Experts' Workshop on Terrorist Threats to Germany and the United States" in Berlin. Participants included U.S. and German government and non-government officials.
• July 31: Ambassador Crumpton delivered the keynote address to the Joint Special Operations University's Interagency Collaboration Course in Arlington.
• August 9: Ambassador Crumpton delivered a presentation on U.S. Counterterrorism Policy at the Aspen Institute's "2006 Intelligence Fellows" Program.
• September 6: Ambassador Crumpton addressed German Ambassadors from around the world at their annual conference in Berlin.
• September 8: Dr. David Kilcullen spoke at the International Institute for Security Studies in Geneva.
• Late-September to mid-October: Ambassador Crumpton made presentations to the Defense Policy Board, the Joint Military Intelligence College, and at the Center for National Policy.
• October 18: Ambassador Crumpton spoke to the Sandia National Laboratory's annual Leadership Conference and to the Santa Fe World Affairs Council Board of Directors.

• June 21: S/CT hosted U.S. Ambassadors to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore to discuss counterterrorism strategy in Southeast Asia as part of the RSI. The group also met with Senator Bond, Senator Feingold, and Representative Kirk, and the interagency CSG.
• July 25-26: S/CT sponsored a conference in London on "Muslim Radicalization in Europe." Participants included academics and government officials from the U.K., Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. Panels included the European roots of Islamic radicalism; critical paths into radical Islamist networks in Europe; European Muslims fighting in Iraq; and what European Muslims and governments can do to contain Islamic radicalism.
• September 7: Ambassador Crumpton co-hosted with the Swiss Government the international bioterrorism conference "Black Ice" in Montreaux, Switzerland.
• October 20-November 2:The Department of Defense hosted the 2006 Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office Biennial Program Review. Ambassador Crumpton addressed the Executive Session of the Review, which included an overview of the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), a joint effort between the State and Defense Departments that coordinates USG-wide technology development for combating terrorism. (The TSWG conducts the National Combating Terrorism Research and Development Program, which advances, utilizes and applies science and technology in support of the war on terrorism. S/CT provides policy oversight for the TSWG and contributes to core funding for its activities.)