COUNTER TERRORISM Reassessing the Policy Response

COUNTER TERRORISM Reassessing the Policy Response Benoît Gomis COUNTER TERRORISM Reassessing the Policy Response Boca Raton London New York CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2016 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20150603 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4822-3716-0 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. 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Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com CONTENTS Foreword ix Acknowledgments xi Author xiii Introduction xv SECTION I Dening the Threat of Terrorism 1 Definitional Issues 3 Legal and Academic Definitions 4 On the Importance of a Common Definition 8 References 12 2 Why Does Terrorism Matter? 15 Brief History of Terrorism 15 Terrorism Today 17 Al Qaeda 19 Islamic State 23 Lone Wolves 25 References 29 3 A Multifaceted Problem 33 Right-Wing Terrorism and Violent Extremism 36 Narco-Terrorism 41 Afghanistan 43 Mali 44 Mexico 48 Cyber Terrorism 53 References 62 v CONTENTS 4 Overestimated Threat 69 Case Study: The United Kingdom and France 77 Counterarguments 80 Why the Hype? 83 References 87 SECTION II Dangers of Overreaction 5 Negative Consequences of Overreaction 93 Counterterrorism Policies Have Created Opportunity Costs 94 China 96 Climate Change 98 Russia 100 Cyber Security 102 Arab Spring 105 Drugs and Organized Crime 107 Counterterrorism Policies Have Tried to Oversimplify Highly Complex Problems 112 Counterterrorism Policies Have Contributed to a Disproportionate Level of Fear across Society 116 Counterterrorism Has at Times Been Counterproductive 120 Copycat Effect 120 Discriminations 126 Foreign Fighters 131 Enhanced Interrogation Techniques 136 Terrorism Has Often Been Used by Policy Officials as a Political Veil or Tool for Other Purposes 139 Counterterrorism Policies Have Infringed on Privacy: The Snowden Revelations 143 “If You Have Nothing to Hide, You Have Nothing to Fear” 146 “This Is Not Surprising. We All Knew This Was Happening” 148 “Snowden Had Other Courses of Action” 148 “I Disagree with Snowden But Welcome the Debate” 149 “Countries around the World Have Always Spied on Each Other. Everybody Does It, So It’s Fine” 150 “What Private Companies Do Is Much Worse” 150 “It’s Only Metadata” 151 vi CONTENTS “It’s Better to Be Safe Than Sorry. I’d Rather Give Up Some of My Privacy for Increased Security” 152 “Intelligence Programs Only Target Foreigners” 153 “We Are Less Safe Now Because of the Snowden Revelations: Terrorists Know What We’re Up To and Will Change the Way They Operate as a Result” 154 References 158 SECTION III How to Break the Cycle? Rethinking the Policy Response 6 Challenging Counterterrorism Policies 173 Case Study: Challenges to Drug Policies 174 References 180 7 Toward a More Measured and Comprehensive Policy Response 183 Case Study: Norway after the July 2011 Attacks 183 Reframing the Discourse 185 Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism 187 Role of Nongovernment Actors 190 Reviewing the Impacts of Foreign Policy 195 Case Study: The Use of Drones 198 Reforming Intelligence Policies 202 References 203 Conclusion 207 List of Acronyms 209 vii FOREWORD In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly. Samuel Taylor Coleridge Since the 2001 attacks, which became known as 9/11, terrorism has been a dominant theme in both the national security and international rela- tions discourse. For many brought up in the paradigm of the Cold War military confrontation among states, the security world seemed to have been fundamentally transformed. Suddenly, a new threat was emerg- ing from shadowy armed groups distinct from state militaries appeared, and governments, especially in the West, scrambled to reorganize their defenses. In parallel with this surge of activity on the part of concerned governments and largely financed by them, an exponential growth in academic research and writing on terrorism occurred. Rarely has a security devel- opment been subject to such intense study, although the ultimate influ- ence of this study on actual counterterrorism policies and practices is far from clear. As the Coleridge epigram suggests, governments and societies when acting out of fear frequently pursue policies that are excessive and can undermine the very values and interests they were meant to protect. The need for objective, evidence-based policies and programs on counterterrorism is as real today as it was in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The shock generated by the magnitude of the loss of civilian lives resulting from this unprecedented attack has dissipated over time. This, coupled with the gradual recognition that the toll from terrorism in the West stands at almost negligible levels in comparison with other dangers, should enable a more realistic assessment of the threat from terrorism, domestic or international. In the decade between 2002 and 2012, deaths due to terrorism amounted to 36 in the United States, 57 in the United Kingdom, 12 in France, and 1 in Canada. Even when considered globally, the fatality rate of homicide worldwide is 40 times higher than that as a result of terrorism. This level of violent fatalities is, in turn, dwarfed by the estimated 211,000 deaths attributed to illicit drug abuse in the single year 2011 or the 2.5 million and 6 million deaths originating with alcohol and tobacco usage, respectively. Have authorities been guilty of a mas- sive overreaction to the terrorism threat? And if so, at what cost, both in ix FOREWORD terms of our security preparedness and democratic practices, not to men- tion the lost opportunities to redirect resources to other pressing national priorities? It is this core question that Benoît Gomis explores in his insightful and comprehensive study of terrorism and its varied impact on contemporary public policies. After a concise history of terrorist action and a comple- mentary exposition on the unresolved definitional questions surrounding the term, Gomis focuses on how the terrorism fixation has led to a series of distortions in a variety of major public policy files. From debunking the supposed narco-terrorist threat to deflating the hyped cyber terrorist threat, Gomis methodically examines the factual basis underlying many of these assertions and reveals them to be largely without foundation. Counterterrorism has become a growth industry and a lucrative one at that. There will always be a temptation to inflate a national security threat on the part of those who will profit from the programs and pro- curement established to counter it. Getting a true picture of the scope and nature of counterterrorism policies is complicated by the tendency of governments to wrap the entire sector under a heavy cloak of secrecy. Gomis calls for greater transparency and accountability from governments in their management of counterterrorism and the avoidance of excessive infringements of civil liberties. Most importantly, he advocates maintain- ing a sense of proportion in assessing and responding to the threat posed by terrorism. It is through a realistic and measured response that those in authority can deal with the actual terrorist challenge while avoiding the pitfalls of an ill-informed and excessive reaction. Gomis has written a fact-based and cogent account of terrorism as a contemporary security policy problem that will be of interest to students and practitioners alike. It is a revealing and refreshing contribution to the existing literature on the subject. Paul Meyer* * Paul Meyer is a former Canadian diplomat. During his 35-year career, he notably held the positions of Director General of the International Security Bureau (1998–2001) and Director General of the Security and Intelligence Bureau (2007–2010) at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. From 2003 to 2007, he served as ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He is now a fellow and adjunct professor in international security at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, Canada) and a senior fellow at the Simons Foundation. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks to everyone who has helped me along my journey, in particular, • My colleagues at Chatham House from whom I have learned so much.

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