http://www.startribune.com/462/story/970683.html
Ambassador sees global insurgency The State Department's outgoing counterterrorism chief says the United States and its allies must rethink their strategies if they are to thwart the growing threat. By Dan Browning, Star Tribune Last update: January 30, 2007 – 10:04 PM Driver in fatal crash was drinking with other teens, charges say The U.S. war on terrorism has largely interrupted Al-Qaida's command structure, but the spreading globalization of communication and trade makes a successful terrorist attack on U.S. soil a certainty. So says Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's outgoing counterterrorism coordinator. Crumpton is a former operative with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who led the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and rout Osama bin Laden after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Crumpton, who will retire Friday after 26 years of government service, is in Minneapolis to speak at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs today. The speech, titled "A New Era of Conflict," begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Cowles Auditorium and is free and open to the public. In an interview Tuesday, Crumpton said the United States and its allies must adapt their counterterrorism strategies to meet a growing threat from individuals or small groups who are much harder to detect than more organized terrorist groups. "I think what we see today really has many of the characteristics of a global insurgency," Crumpton said. "If you look at successful counter- insurgency strategies, historically, 10 to 20 percent involves the military," he said. The bulk of the work must center on building reliable government and social institutions. Crumpton said the United States must be careful in how it defines its enemies so that it does not preclude cooperation from unfriendly governments that have a common interest in combating terrorism. For counterterrorism to succeed, we must build trusted networks, he said. "And we have to think in those terms, because if you don't replace the enemy networks and you don't deny the enemy safe haven and you don't address those [underlying] conditions ... then you'll have a resurgence at some point," Crumpton said, citing the comeback of the Taliban last year in some sectors of Afghanistan. "In most countries of the world, they do not have a favorable view of the U.S.," he said. "And that is bothersome. More than that -- it's a concern. "And we have got to address it. It's fundamental to the success that we need," Crumpton said. "We have to be very aggressive in identifying and engaging our enemies, but engaging them with great precision and speed and flexibility. And if necessary, with lethal means," he said. "But in the broader context, we have to think about these other instruments because ... in many ways, they're more enduring," he said. Military power just buys space and time, Crumpton said. Success will only come with the building of liberal institutions. Dan Browning • 612-673-4493 • [EMAIL PROTECTED] +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
