New York , Oct. 4, 2006 — Five years after the attacks of September 11, what are the prospects for the global counterterrorism campaign? In Allied against Terrorism: What’s Needed to Strengthen Worldwide Commitment, Alistair Millar and Eric Rosand, two distinguished counterterrorism experts, take on that question.

There is now broad recognition, even among the most powerful countries, that a successful campaign against terrorism must be conducted by nations through effective coordination and cooperation at the national, regional, and global levels. The Bush Administration’s recently updated counterterrorism strategy, for example, highlights the importance of nonmilitary tools and, international cooperation in the global anti-terrorism campaign. It recalls that the creation of international institutions and enduring partnerships helped to defeat communism, concluding that “similar transformational structures to carry forward the fight against terror [are needed] to help ensure our ultimate success.”    

The authors assert that much of the work that needs to be done to improve global, non-military counterterrorism capacities and coordination among states and organizations—essential elements of an effective counterterrorism strategy—is technical and not political. A truly global campaign that employs law enforcement, information-sharing, diplomatic, political, and economic counterterrorism measures is necessary to trace funding, disrupt planning, strengthen borders, and thwart new attacks. While the initial impulse for effective action may come from individual states, sustaining it requires ongoing coordination.  

Beginning with a look at the effectiveness of the international measures against terrorist violence already in place, Millar and Rosand:

• examine the United Nations nonmilitary campaign to combat global terrorism,
• highlight the political and institutional limitations impeding UN efforts, and
• suggest ways to streamline the UN Security Council-led efforts as an interim stage, but acknowledge that more far-reaching structural changes may be needed .

In recommending that the creation of a new multilateral counterterrorism body be considered by policymakers, they:

• outline the anti-terrorism mandate for such an organization;
• explore possible treaty based, informal political based, and UN program models; and
• offer specific reasons why the United States and other nations could find the creation of a dedicated international counter-terrorism organization in their interests.

Alistair Millar is the director of the Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation and teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He is the editor of Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Emergent Threats in an Evolving Security Environment (Brassey’s, 2003). Eric Rosand is a senior fellow at the Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation and recently was chief of the Multilateral Affairs Unit in the Department of State’s Office of the Counter-terrorism Coordinator.

For an excerpt of Allied against Terrorism: What’s Needed to Strengthen Worldwide Commitment, please visit www.tcf.org. To set up interviews or for further information contact Christy Hicks at hicks@tcf.org, or (212) 452-7723.