Question 1
What is the difference between counterterrorism and antiterrorism? Which agency is responsible for each area? Do you know why that is?
Answer:
Counter-Terrorism - Offensive measures taken to prevent, deter, and respond to an attack or terrorism.
Anti-Terrorism - Defensive measures taken to reduce likelihood of an attack by making the target difficult to attack, and also reduces the vulnerability to terrorist acts.
Anti-Terrorism - Department of Justice/FBI and the Department of State are the lead agencies responsible for Anti-Terrorism. With this being said, I believe all agencies also have a supporting role to prevent these types of acts.
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Counter-Terrorism - Based on the information that I have been finding online, it seems like all of the Federal Agencies have a certain responsibility when it comes to counterterrorism such as: FBI, DHS, Dept. of Treasury, Dept. of State, and Dept. of Justice, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Health and Human Services, etc. I believe this is because everyone has a certain role and area of responsibility that must be accomplished to keep the United States Safe. No one agency can accomplish this mission without the assistance of other agencies.
The answers coincide with the definitions of anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism in the in the joint publication of the US Chiefs of Staff regarding the tactics and procedures regarding anti-terrorism (Joint Chiefs, 1998).
The team collaborating in counterterrorism includes ten major government branches, including several Bureaus under the Department of State. The other government units are The White House, Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Director for National Intelligence, Agency for International Development, and the National Counterterrorism Center as head (DOS, n.d.). The FBI fall under the Department of Justice. The Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Transportation, and Dept. of Health and Human Services are not included in the list.
According to the same joint publication from the Chiefs of Staff, the main organizations dealing with terrorism management (anti-terrorism) are the National Security Council (NSC), Dept. of State (DOS), Dept. of Justice (DOJ). A series of approvals are required to authorize the Military to participate in the anti-terrorist action. (Joint Chiefs, 1998)
Question 2
What role should the military services play in counterterrorism? Think about UAVs and military intelligence in particular.
Answer:
I think the military should have a role in counterterrorism, however, I think for the most part; it should be left up to the various Federal Agencies. Military intelligence is definitely important to counterterrorism, however, the support and guidance from other Federal agencies is also needed to be effective. Uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) would be good to use for reconnaissance missions, and to gather intelligence. Using this type of technology would give the United States somewhat of an advantage because they can be positioned fairly close to potential targets, and they are somewhat difficult to detect. An advantage of using this type of technology would be that it reduces potential risk to service members, and the equipment can remain in position for an extended period of time; unlike military personnel that need to have a food source, water source, and need to conduct personal hygiene.
The role of Military in counter-terrorism as outlined by Geraint Hughes (2011) are: military aid to the civil authority, deterrence, Interdiction, training allied forces, hostage rescue, clandestine operations or intelligence-gathering, preemptive intervention, targeted killing, retaliation, and regime change. These actions do not encompass all the action outlined in counterterrorism, as some counter-methods can be done in the negotiation table as well. The answer above pertains to authority of federal departments over the military in the over-all motions of counter terrorism actions of the country.
The controversial UAV’s are expected to perform clandestine operations, but are also recently assigned to targeted killing. In line with the answer above, it has proven to have aided in the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of military work in counter-terrorism. (Stratfor, 2012)
Question 3
What is the difference between counterterrorism and antiterrorism? Which agency is responsible for each area? Do you know why that is?
Answer: Per U.S. DoD, July 2007 Counterterrorism is "a set of techniques for denying an opponent the use of terrorism-based tactics". More simply put, an offensive front from prevention through response. Responding to counterterrorism would be the larger armed services which would include U.S. Customs, the Coast Guard and primary military forces. This would also require more planning and tactical skills and abilities which are more the nature of these services.
Compared to anti-terrorism whereby included are concepts of terrorism and how we would protect our society or members from those terrorist acts which is defensive. It is interesting to also include the military context of terrorism as it is defined as "organized, premeditated use of violenceto advance an idealogical goal. I believe this adds some better context to the definition. Anti-terrorism would see a response from more localized military or civilian law enforcement since there is more limited response.
The answer above corresponds to the fundamental difference of counter-terrorism and anti-terrorism, in which the first is offensive, and the later defensive. According to Hughes (2011) though, counter-terrorism is overseen and strategized, not by the military, but by a number of federal organization, and the military have specifically outlined roles in the procedure.
The answer agrees with the description of anti-terrorism in the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s publication (1998) in that the military in more of a limited and localized scope. It needs a series of approval from key authorities before it can be involved in anti-terrorist actions. A military action against a terrorist action is the joint effort from both Federal Bureau of Investigations and Department of Defense, but only after the authorization of the Attorney General, then the White House.
References
Hughes, G. (2011 May). “The Military's Role in Counterterrorism: Examples and Implications of Liberal Democracies.” The Letort Papers. Retrieved from: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1066.pdf
Joint Chiefs of Staff. (1998 March 17) Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Antiterrorism, Joint Pub-3, 07.2. Retrieved from:http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_07_2.pdf
US Department of State (n.d).”U.S. Counterterrorism Team.” US Department of State: Diplomacy In Action. Retrieved form: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/team/index.htm
Stratfor Global Intelligence (2012 January 12). Armed UAV Operations 10 Years On. Retrieved from: http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/armed-uav-operations-10-years
