European Affairs

Spring 2003

 

Special Report: The Rift in Transatlantic Relations
Despite Divisions, Europe and the United States Are Fighting Terrorism Together
By Thomas E. McNamara

 

Despite differences within the Atlantic community on Iraq and other issues, the United States and its European partners agree on the grave threat that international terrorism poses to the global community.

Nations on both sides of the Atlantic have suffered from domestic terrorism. U.S. citizens have been attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, paramilitary militias, and religious extremists. Europe has faced and met challenges from the Irish Republican Army, the Basque terrorist organization ETA, and numerous other murderous groups such as the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy. For decades we have also faced a common threat of international terrorism that requires constant, close cooperation.

International terrorists are different from the home-grown variety: they ignore national boundaries, escape national pursuit, and benefit from safe havens and state sponsors. They cannot be contained by one nation alone. In addition to the devastating events of September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Bali, Russia, Kenya, the Philippines, Pakistan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia have shown that terrorists have global reach. Any state suffering the blows of modern international terrorism cannot escape the high costs in security and peace of mind for years to come.

The challenge today is to find effective common strategies against terror. Every country must accept that homeland defense begins far beyond its borders. American efforts protect Europeans; European efforts protect the United States. Cooperation and mutual assistance are essential in all regions of the globe.

Europeans and Americans may disagree on the particulars of this protracted struggle, but they do not differ on the essentials. Europe and the United States have common histories, traditions, institutions and values that serve us both well. Compared to these bonds, our disagreements are small and transient. Our divisions can be overcome if we are both determined that these centuries-old ties not be weakened.

The demise of the Atlantic community has been predicted on countless occasions. All these forecasts have proved wrong because European and American ideals of personal freedom, individual privacy, due process and private enterprise are firmly established on common foundations.

Terror must be confronted around the globe with all the economic, law enforcement, diplomatic, and intelligence means available. Coalitions and cooperation to share intelligence, freeze assets, and catch suspected terrorists are essential to defeat terrorism. If these fail, resort to military means is justified.

Although there are a number of organizations devoted to tackling international problems such as the proliferation of nuclear arms and other weapons, there is no international organization dedicated to combating terrorism. Yet, the United States and Europe have built and sustained many institutions that now play special roles in this struggle, including the European Union, NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Eight leading industrial countries.

Other global organizations nurtured by the Atlantic partners are also important. Among these are the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and Interpol. Together, we can engage these groups effectively in the struggle by encouraging them to strengthen global standards and practices against terrorism, and to assist less developed nations.

In the aftermath of September 11, the UN Security Council passed the ground-breaking Resolution 1373 (2001), providing the legal, political, and moral foundations for the international community to organize and act against terror. The Counter-Terrorism Committee, established under Resolution 1373 and chaired by Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, can facilitate productive relationships among nations and among regional and global organizations.

This binding resolution obliges all nations to prevent the financing, recruitment and harboring of terrorists, as well as their movement across national borders. It also requires governments to pass effective laws against terrorism, to prosecute or extradite terrorists, to cooperate on criminal investigations, and to become parties to all 12 international terrorism conventions. In March 2003, 60 international organizations came to the United Nations in New York and committed to undertake action programs to assist their member states to implement Resolution 1373.

It is worth looking at what just one of these organizations is doing. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an especially effective global organization. From a small group established by the Group of Seven in the late 1980s, it has grown to become a vigorous organization of 31 members, 20 of which are European or North American. By adopting agreed counter-terrorism financial guide-lines, FATF members are making major contributions to the fight against terrorism.

These agreed standards encourage or require countries to ratify international conventions, criminalize the financing of terrorism, freeze and confiscate terrorist assets, report suspicious transactions, assist law enforcement and regulatory authorities, impose anti-money laundering requirements on informal money transfer systems, improve customer identification, and ensure that entities, especially charitable organizations, do not finance terrorism.

Regional organizations around the world, such as the OSCE, also have special roles to play in countering terrorism and implementing Resolution 1373. Efforts to combat terrorism are only effective if neighboring states cooperate with each other, control borders and set standards – something the European Union and its members understand all too well. Regional and sub-regional organizations can often set priorities and coordinate assistance to members better than global ones.Resolution 1373 is the start of a long journey, requiring patience, diligence, and adequate resources to deter terrorists, protect our peoples and ways of life, and develop the capabilities to respond to catastrophic attacks.

As Osama bin Laden has made clear, notably in his speech of November 2002, his target is not just the United States, but Western values and institutions. The events and threats of the past year have confirmed these objectives. Since September 11, 2001, U.S. cooperation with the European Union and its member nations has accordingly taken on increased urgency.

Our work with Europe involves counter terrorism and homeland security. In counter-terrorism, the United States and European countries are cooperating closely and steadily to fulfill the mandate of Resolution 1373, and to break up terrorist cells and prevent further attacks.In the homeland security area, cooperation with Europe is focused on moving our border defenses outward and making them stronger, to prevent the movement of people and goods that would do us all harm. The United States is promoting a number of major joint initiatives with Europe to enhance border security, and hence, mutual security.

The United States and the European Union are working together to ensure carriers share Passenger Name Record (PNR) data so that we can monitor travelers before they arrive in a country. We have recently reached a preliminary agreement with the European Commission on access to this data. This facilitates legitimate travel as it can speed processing for those flying in and out of the United States.

To address EU concerns, the United States has agreed to protect visitors' information and to implement data-handling procedures that safeguard privacy. At the same time, the United States wants its carriers to contribute to European security by sharing the PNR data of American travelers with the European authorities.

We are also working with European countries to create internationally acceptable biometric devices, such as iris scanning, facial recognition and fingerprints, for travel documents. The biometrics initiative will improve the reliability of travel documents and make them more resistant to fraud, alteration and theft.

Under a third major initiative, the Container Security Initiative (CSI), the United States has during the past year negotiated arrangements with major ports covering much of the cargo shipped to the United States. Many of these ports are in Europe. Our first European pilot agreement was with the Port of Rotterdam.

This initiative strengthens the security of ports and tracks cargo more effectively. Automated information is used to identify and target high risk containers, which are then screened by detection technology and other mechanisms. As a result, potential security threats, such as weapons of mass destruction, can be detected and deterred. These efforts will improve security and speed up legitimate land and sea cargo.

We have already signed agreements with several countries within and beyond the European Union, covering 18 of the world's 20 mega-ports, and we are planning to expand the system so as to cover ports handling 99 percent of Transatlantic trade. We are also discussing an agreement that would address concerns from the European Commission that our bilateral agreements may distort trade flows, although to date this has not occurred. Other programs will surely follow to enhance security for all, while benefiting legitimate trade and travel.

The United States, for instance, has a well-developed program of international outreach for security against cyber terrorism. Discussions with the European Union are just starting. The European Union recently announced the creation of a European Network and Information Security Agency to facilitate cyber security cooperation and information-sharing among European nations, as part of a larger EU effort to protect critical information infrastructure. The time is ripe to establish a more formal relationship with the European Union on cyber security matters.

In the past 18 months, law enforcement and intelligence exchanges have grown among 90 countries. Working together, cooperating nations have detained approximately 2,700 Al Qaeda suspects who have provided useful intelligence that has allowed the United States and its allies to destroy cells, prevent additional attacks, and save lives.

No nation alone can secure its homeland or counter the threats of modern international terrorism. Only by joining together can we protect our people, defend our societies, and preserve our ideals and principles for future generations. That is why the United Nations, NATO, the Group of Eight and so many other institutions that embody internationally accepted principles and practices are so important to Europe and the United States in this fight. But, above all, it is why Europe and the United States must work together to confront this dangerous post-Cold War phenomenon.

Thomas E. McNamara is Senior Advisor for Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism at the U.S. Department of State. Before returning to the Department of State following the attacks of 9/11, Ambassador McNamara was President and CEO of the Americas Society and of the Council of the Americas from 1998 to 2001. His career has included service as Assistant Secretary of State, Special Negotiator for Panama, Ambassador-at-Large for Counter Terrorism, Special Assistant to the President for National Security, and Ambassador to Colombia.