JINSA Hosts Meeting about Responses to Terrorism
On 13 August, JINSA sponsored the third in series of meetings concerning America’s responses to terrorism; the previous meeting having taken place in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. Experts from Capitol Hill, academia and public policy forums met to discuss the gap between counter-terrorism theory, law and law enforcement.
On 13 August, JINSA sponsored the third in series of meetings concerning America’s responses to terrorism; the previous meeting having taken place in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. Experts from Capitol Hill, academia and public policy forums met to discuss the gap between counter-terrorism theory, law and law enforcement.
JINSA is one of the few organizations that suggested that the last terrorism legislation was insufficient to combat a growing phenomenon. JINSA is concerned that the failure to extend wire tapping authority and to allow taggants in explosives, among other shortcomings, would limit our ability to deal with terrorism. As we predicted, the president has returned to the Congress and asked that these two items be reinstated in the arsenal to fight terrorism.
JINSA convened fifteen terrorism experts to examine terrorism and advise us on what other measures are needed to protect American and world citizenry. Topics included the role of Congress and the Administration in setting priorities; the need for expanded authority and additional resources; and cooperation between U.S. agencies (and between American and foreign security agencies) both prior to terrorist incidents and subsequent to them.
The group agreed that Americans – both the public and the government – continue to consider terrorism something that happens somewhere else. One participant said, “It is like lightening, it strikes, but not at my house.” An education process to raise public awareness might have an impact on Congress’s ability to legislate higher level coordination between American security agencies and override some of the “turf battles” that seem to be endemic to the process. Whether terrorism constitutes a problem of law enforcement or one of national security sparked a spirited discussion.
JINSA will be exploring more offensive measures to counter and protect against terrorism.
There was general agreement with one speaker who said, “The defensive approach is hopeless. In an open, democratic society terrorism has an endless number of targets. We cannot defend them all. There is no substitute for the offensive approach. The President has to name names and ideologies. You have to explain that there is evil here – there are means and sponsors – there is evil that cannot be changed by friendly persuasion.”