The IDC

BUILDING COALITIONS
Parliamentarians and diplomats joined in assessing the current situation,
including what can and must be achieved through international coalitions
and partnerships. Michał Tomasz Kaminski, president of the European
Conservatives and Reformists Political Group, European Parliament,
European Union, acknowledged that European freedom is under attack,
with many Europeans who “fall victim to moral relativism.” He expressed
assurance that “Europe will never succumb to terror because it can rely
on its brave ally, Israel, which has struggled to defend our values,” but
that gratitude cannot be limited to words. “Europeans frequently need to
be reminded of their tragic past, that totalitarian ideologies wreak untold
damage if left unchecked.” Europe and Israel must stand together to advance
joint anti-terror principles. Dr. Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director
of the Washington Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and
Intelligence, spoke of the “cascade of instability” resulting from Iran’s pursuit
of nuclear arms and sponsorship of terror, financed through its own banks.
Eugen Wollfarth, head of the Counter-Terrorism Task Force in the
Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office), Berlin, spoke of the danger
posed by home-grown terrorists recruited within Germany and trained in
the Afghan-Pakistani border area. Previously, terrorists moved to Germany
to commit terrorist attacks. Now, they move from Germany to Afganistan
and Pakistan to undergo training. There is no space for illusion, Wollfarth
warned; potential attacks in Germany cannot be ruled out.
Using high-fidelity satellite depictions, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, head of
the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research
at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, described the hostile
and rugged terrain along the Afghan-Pakistani (Af-Pak) border. These
tribal areas are sparse, undeveloped with poor infrastructure and
communication, the border porous. About 25 groups emerged, which are
collectively known as the Pakistan Taliban. Known as FATA (Federally
Administrated Tribal Area), this area is where Europeans go to train in
terrorist camps. In many ways, this structure has been replicated from
Afghanistan to Pakistan. While drone strikes have produced good results
in locating and attacking these camps, greater investment is needed to
stabilize the border, train the police and economically develop that region.
9th AnnuAl ict cOnference
Alain Bauer, president, French Strategic Security Mission; co-founder,
Defence and National Security Council (CDSN), France, noted that
criminologists are not policemen or judges and that his contribution is
to try to understand what criminals and terrorists do. Crime does well in
times of economic crisis, crises attract crime and terror and there is no one
magical solution to the issue of this multi-headed complexity.
OPERATION CAST LEAD: A CASE STUDY IN COMPLEXITY
The challenges of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza embodied the complex
issues of asymmetrical warfare and generated much discussion. Col (Res)
Shlomo Mofaz, ICT research associate, noted that on an operational
level, Hamas lost to IDF forces in all clashes and therefore avoided direct
contact, “disappearing” in order to avoid the IDF’s superior manoeuvring
capability, instead using the homes of civilians as battlefields and targets
and making use of international public opinion when civilians were injured
or killed. He recalled that the IDF made more than 250,000 phone calls to
“INDIAN MUSLIMS REFUSED TO
BURY THE MUMBAI ATTACKERS IN
A MUSLIM CEMETERY. THE RECENT
EVENTS HAVE MADE AN IMPACT
ON INDIA-ISRAEL STRATEGIC TIES
INVOLVING CLOSER COOPERATION
ON SECURITY/COUNTER-TERRORISM
THROUGH PERCEPTIONS AND
PRIORITIES GUIDED BY NATIONAL
INTERESTS AND VALUES”
- Col. Behran Sahukar, research fellow, United Service Institute, India
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the fighting to warn of upcoming
attacks on the area, and that civilians went to the rooftops, knowing that
the IDF would not attack. IAF hits to building corners, in a tactic known
as “knock on the roof,” often acted as effective persuasion for them to leave,
allowing clear access to the target.
Given the enormity of the complexity of fighting terror, Prof. Alex Mintz,
dean of the Lauder School, noted how much we gain in understanding
terrorists’ decision making processes and uncovering their “cognitive
fingerprint.” The ICT network and others like it aid in detecting threats and
preventing attacks. Widening the circle of connections among counterterror
professionals provides fortification on the operational level in a
world of uncertainty.
for extensive video coverage of the conference
proceedings, please visit http://www.ict.org.il
- Jennifer Roskies
IDC Winter 2010 >
65