TRANSFORMATION OF NATO IN THE FACE OF TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM A Master’s Thesis by SEBAHAT BULDUK Department of International Relations Bilkent University Ankara September 2009 To my parents and Ertuğrul TRANSFORMATION OF NATO IN THE FACE OF TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by Sebahat BULDUK In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA September 2009 I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations. Assoc. Prof. Ersel AYDINLI Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations. Asst. Prof. Tarık OĞUZLU Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations. Asst. Prof. Aylin GÜNEY Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Erdal Erel Director ABSTRACT TRANSFORMATION OF NATO IN THE FACE OF TRANSNATIONAL TERORISM Bulduk, Sebahat M.A. Department of International Relations Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Ersel Aydınlı September 2009 Transnational terrorism with special reference to the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the territory of the United States has significant impacts on NATO’s approach to terrorism at rhetorical, practical and institutional levels. This thesis describes and explains the role of transnational terrorism on NATO’s transformation process, which intensified with the end of Cold War era. The Alliance’s 1991 and 1999 Strategic Concepts already defined terrorism as one of the risks to the Allies’ security. However, NATO began to actively engage in fighting against terrorism after the September 11 attacks. Just after 9/11, NATO for the first time in its history invoked Article 5, which is the collective defense clause of the Washington Treaty. Particularly, the Prague Summit held in 2002 has been catalyst for the transformation of Alliance into an organization that is more adaptive to the new security environment where the threats are less likely to be state-centric. In the assessment, until September 11, 2001, terrorism did not have a priority on the NATO’s agenda. Then, after the dramatic assaults, almost every step in the Alliance has been taken in the name of fighting against terrorism. The creation of the NATO Response Force, Terrorist Threat Intelligence Unit and further a new “Allied Command Transformation” are several examples in this regard. Basically, 9/11 demonstrated that transnational terrorism constitutes a very serious threat even for a super power, nobody is immune from terrorism and the approach to terrorism as a domestic threat is no longer applicable. Key words: new terrorism, NATO and transformation, September 11 attacks, Prague Summit, Afghanistan. iii ÖZET NATO’NUN SINIROTESI TERORİZM KARSISINDA DÖNÜŞÜMÜ Bulduk, Sebahat Yüksek Lisans, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Assoc. Prof. Ersel Aydınlı Eylül 2009 Transnasyonel terör, özellikle 11 Eylül 2001 tarihinde Amerika’ya düzenlenen terörist saldırılar başta olmak üzere, NATO’nun teröre yaklaşımında söylemsel, operasyonel ve kurumsal düzeyde önemli değişikliklere yol açmıştır. Bu tez çalışması, NATO’nun Soğuk Savaş sonrasında başlayan dönüşüm sürecinde transnasyonel terörün rolünü tanımlamaya ve açıklamaya çalışmaktadır. İttifak’ın 1991 yılında kabul edilmiş ve 1999 yılında gözden geçirilmiş Stratejik Konseptleri, terörü önceden NATO’nun güvenliğine yönelik tehditlerden biri olarak kabul etse de, İttifak’ın 11 Eylül’e verdiği cevapla, NATO terörle mücadeleye aktif olarak katılmaya başlamıştır. 9/11’den sonra İttifak, tarihinde ilk defa Vaşington Andlaşmasının kolektif savunmayı öngören 5. maddesini hayata geçirmiştir. Özellikle 2002 yılında düzenlenen Prag Zirvesi, NATO’nun devlet eksenli olmaktan uzaklaşan güvenlik tehditleri karşısında, daha uyumlu bir örgüte dönüşümünde bir tür katalist olmuştur. Değerlendirme olarak, 11 Eylül 2001’e kadar terörizm, NATO’nun ajandasında öncelikli bir yere sahip olmamıştır. Dramatik saldırılardan sonra ise İttifak içindeki hemen tüm kararlar terörle mücadele doğrultusunda alınmıştır. NATO Mukabele Kuvveti, Terör Tehdidi İstihbarat Birimi ve yeni “Müttefik Transformasyon Komutanlığı”nın kurulması bu konudaki örneklerden bazılarıdır. 11 Eylül, terörün artık süper güç bir ülke için bile ciddi tehlike arzettiğini, kimsenin terörden muaf olmadığını ve terörün yerel bir tehdit olarak görüldüğü anlayışın artık geçerli bulunmadığını göstermiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: yeni terörizm, NATO ve dönüşüm, 11 Eylül 2001 saldırıları, Prag Zirvesi, Afganistan. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all I would like to render my thanks and appreciation to my supervisor Ersel Aydınlı for his support and guidance throughout the research period. His comments and remarks on the initial drafts have been crucial for structuring the thesis. Without his understanding and encouragement, I could not have managed to complete this project. Furthermore, it is a pleasure to thank Asst. Prof. Tarık Oğuzlu and Asst. Prof Aylin Güney for having accepted to take part in my thesis committee. Special thanks go to my lovely fiancée Ertuğrul Demirci and my parents for their continuous support, encouragement and motivation in really hard times I lived through. I am really grateful to Tomur Bayer, the General Director of the International Security Affairs and to Ahmet Muhtar Gün, the Vice General Director of OSCE, Arms Control and Disarmament Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey for their precious advices and help. Indeed, I benefited from their wide knowledge. I would also like to extend my thanks to Colonel Mete Tahmisoğlu for his support and kind conversations he held with me about my thesis. I thank TUBİTAK for financing a significant part of my graduate studies. Last but not least, I am forever in dept to my friends for their support, friendship and inspiration while I was preparing this thesis: Meryem Tığrak, my roommates Özge Wambach, Ceren Baran and Berfin Çıtırıkadıoğlu. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................iii ÖZET...........................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.....................................................................................…...v TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................................................................................…vi LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………...viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................1 CHAPTER II: THE CONCEPT OF NEW TERRORISM WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM……………………………6 2.1 The Concept of Security in a Globalized World………………………..6 2.2 Transnationalization of Insecurity………………………………………10 2.3 Chancing Face of Terrorism…………………………………………… 13 2.3.1 Traditional versus Contemporary Terrorism………………… 13 2.3.2 State Sponsored Terrorism…………………………………….15 2.4 The Effect of Globalization on Transnational Terrorism………………..16 2.5 New Terrorism…………………………………………………………..18 2.5.1 New Security Dilemma………………………………………..18 2.5.2 The Characteristics of New Terrorism.......................................22 2.5.3 New Wars in the Age of New Terrorism...................................31 2.6 Al-Qaeda Network with the Outrageous Effect of the September 11 Attacks………………………………………………………………………34 CHAPTER III: NATO’S APPROACH TO TERRORSIM BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001……………………………………………………………………………..40 3.1 NATO and Its Missions During the Cold War………………………… 40 3.1.1 The Origins of the Alliance……………………………………40 3.1.2 The Security Tasks of the Alliance……………………………41 3.2 NATO’s Tasks and Missions in the post Cold War Period……………..44 3.2.1 Keeping NATO and Redefining Collective Defense………….44 3.2.2 Arms control and WMD………………………………………45 vi 3.2.3 Enlargement Policy: Cooperation with Former Adversaries and Other non-NATO Nations…………………………………………...49 3.2.3.1 Partnership for Peace (PfP) Initiative………………..52 3.2.3.2 Membership Action Plan (MAP)…………………….53 3.2.4 NATO and the Balkans: Crisis Management and Peace Operations…………………………………………………………...53 3.2.5 Growing European Independency through ESDP……………..56 3.3 NATO’s Approach to the Nature of Terrorism………………………… 60 3.4 1991 Strategic Concept………………………………………………… 65 3.5 1999 Strategic Concept………………………………………………… 67 CHAPTER IV: TRANSFORMATION OF NATO AT THE RHETORICAL AND PRACTICAL LEVELS.…………………………………………………………….71 4.1 Transformation at the Rhetorical Level…………………………………72 4.1.1 Rhetorical Transformation about Nature of the Threat….…….73 4.1.2 Rhetorical Transformation on the Response to Terrorism…… 77 4.1.2.1 Condemning the Attacks…………………………… 77 4.1.2.2 Emphasizing Solidarity, Unity and Readiness……....78 4.1.2.3 Comprehensive Approach…………………………...81 4.1.2.4 A Further Step: Revising Strategic Concept………...81 4.2 Transformation at the Practical Level…………………………………...82 4.2.1 Military Concept Against Terrorism…………………………..84 4.2.2 Combating Terrorism in the Mediterranean…………………...86