Counterterrorism

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Handover of the reward to an informant in the Philippines, 2007
Counter-terrorism with tractors at the entrance to a national event in Frankenfels , Lower Austria (September 2017)

The aim of counter-terrorism is to identify terrorist actions in advance, to prevent them and to fight terrorist groups or individual perpetrators. Classical counter-terrorism strategies primarily include military operations, influencing ( winning hearts and minds ) and democratization , while deterrence , development cooperation and appeasement have been used less frequently.

The "survival" of terrorist organizations depends mainly on three factors:

  • the ability to get support from the population,
  • the effectiveness of governments' counter-terrorism campaigns, as well
  • the terrorists' ability to find outside funders.

Attacked states have various options to counter terrorism. In addition to counter-terrorism measures such as increasing their own security and establishing information about terrorist units ( fusion centers ), states can negotiate with terrorists and / or make concessions to prevent further attacks.

Peace research has an alternative approach to combating terrorism . Concepts are for example

  • under all circumstances negotiations with terrorists “at one table” (seek negotiated solution) or
  • Prevention by addressing the root causes of terrorism. The causes include fanaticism , injustice, poor education and the resulting hatred in the Third World towards industrialized countries and former colonial powers.

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , so-called anti-terror laws were introduced in many countries .

Multilateral counter-terrorism

Numerous agreements, resolutions and decisions today regulate the prosecution and punishment of terrorists, terrorist groups and terrorist offenses under international law . Only typical forms of action such as aircraft hijacking , hostage-taking and bomb attacks are recognized as criminal offenses worldwide . So far there is no consensus on an internationally uniform definition of what terrorism is. The aim of the agreements, such as the Prüm Treaty or bilateral agreements on deepening cooperation in the fight against serious crime, has therefore so far only been to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation in criminal matters.

As a result, a criminal offense “terrorism” was not included in the list of competencies of the International Criminal Court (it was still present in drafts). Only terrorist offenses that can be classified as crimes against humanity , war crimes or genocide fall within its jurisdiction. Therefore, the respective national authorities are responsible for the prosecution.

After the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 , the UN Security Council called on all members of the United Nations to take “all necessary measures” in the fight against the terrorist militia IS in a resolution that was submitted and unanimously passed by France . France itself has set up the Opération Sentinelle , which strengthens the Vigipirate anti-terrorist plan .

The inadequate exchange of information within the European Union about Islamist threats is criticized, which is attributed to the fact that no common definition of a threat has been agreed so far.

Preventing terrorist content online

On December 6, 2018 in Brussels, the Council of Ministers of the Interior of the European Union agreed that Internet providers , regardless of whether their headquarters are in Europe or not, would have to undertake to delete terrorist content within an hour. Failure to do so could result in fines. In addition, they would have to take preventive measures to prevent the republication of content that has already been deleted. In order to simplify the cooperation between providers and the authorities, points of contact are created. The Presidency will enter into negotiations with the European Parliament in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Situation in Germany

German police officers guard the Bundeswehr hospital in Hamburg after evidence of a terrorist attack

In the Federal Republic of Germany ( Sections 129 to 129b of the Criminal Code : membership in a terrorist organization ), so-called terrorist attacks do not count as military or warlike acts. The police and not the Bundeswehr are responsible for warding off such dangers ; German criminal law and criminal procedure law apply to criminal prosecution .

Around 2004–2007 the Bundestag debated whether there was a security gap in the constitution and whether or how it should be closed. A permit for the use of Bundeswehr combat aircraft to shoot down hijacked passenger planes was considered . On January 14, 2004, the Federal Government submitted a draft law to the Bundestag (“Draft of a law for the new regulation of aviation security tasks”).

The army , the police, under certain circumstances, by way of assistance to support ad hoc basis. According to the German Emergency Laws, the military can be deployed "in the protection of civilian objects and in the fight against organized and militarily armed insurgents" ( Article 87a, Paragraph 4, Basic Law ). According to the Aviation Security Act, the Bundeswehr can act in the event of a commercial aircraft hijacked by terrorists. However, the Federal Constitutional Court has declared the direct action with armed force, i.e. a shooting down, to be unconstitutional under Section 14 (3) of the Aviation Security Act.

An inter-agency means of combating terrorism is the Joint Counter Terrorism Center .

Since September 12, 2014, any participation in the terrorist group " Islamic State " (IS) has been a criminal offense in Germany . According to Der Spiegel, the number of preliminary investigations relating to the IS complex represents “a particular challenge for law enforcement activities”.

Situation in the United States

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the administration of President George W. Bush declared the fight against international terrorism to be an important part of its domestic and foreign policy and subsequently proclaimed the so-called war on terror (the term " War "is of course controversial). Among other things, a separate Ministry for Internal Security was founded, which allegedly has 230,000 employees. In view of the only 10 victims of terrorism who died in the USA in 2012, critics speak of "terror paranoia ".

Nevertheless, the institutions that were created or newly coordinated to fight terrorism in the USA suffer from personal, cultural and organizational problems, so that they can hardly do their job properly.

Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights

When violations of human rights and international law occur in the fight against terrorism, democracies can violate their own foundations and thereby lose substance and credibility. If a climate is created in the public (“global war on terrorism”) in which such violations are justified as preventive self-defense, it becomes more likely that they actually happen.

The human rights violations and war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan , in Abu-Ghraib and in Camp Delta on Guantánamo are examples of this, as is the targeted killing of terrorism suspects by the Israeli army. In 2004, the head and co-founder of the Palestinian organization Hamas , Sheikh Ahmad Yasin , was killed during an air strike by an Israeli attack helicopter while leaving a mosque. Shortly afterwards, the Israeli military killed Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who had been chosen as Yassin's successor . When large numbers of civilians are killed in military operations, as in the war in Afghanistan since 2001 , the fight against terrorism can lose its credibility.

The same applies to the serious restrictions on basic civil liberties through new anti-terror laws. In its 2006 program, the ARD magazine plusminus came to the conclusion: “Balance after five years of fighting terrorism: In addition to sensible measures such as the establishment of the anti-terrorist database , citizens are also being monitored without any tangible success. (...) Total financial surveillance does nothing against these new forms of terrorism. But it costs the economy and consumers a lot of money, and citizens lose some freedom. "

In its report “Assessing Damage, Urging Action” in February 2009, after a 3-year study in forty countries, the International Legal Commission came to the conclusion that the measures originally directed against terrorism had already seeped into the normal operation of the states and the everyday justice system . This has long-term consequences for the concept of the rule of law and seriously jeopardizes the legal order that has been built up in the last century and is based on respect for human rights.

In a statistical analysis, Piazza and Walsh (2009) examine the question of the extent to which human rights have been restricted after terrorist attacks. In doing so, they come to the counter-intuitive result that states that experience particularly serious terrorist events carry out more targeted killings of terrorists and more terrorist suspects "disappear", but the frequency of torture and political imprisonment does not increase systematically with terrorist events in a country. In another study, the authors were able to work out a systematic connection between the disregard of basic human rights and the occurrence of terrorist events. The theoretical explanation is based on three causal mechanisms:

  1. Governments that disregard the right to physical integrity of their people cannot access the information they need in the fight against terrorism
  2. Disregarding physical rights creates additional potential for conflict with other political groups in a country
  3. Countries that disregard the right to physical integrity are not good cooperation partners for the international community

The authors conclude that it is not the institutional structure of states but rather the actual exercise of power by states that explains vulnerability to terrorism. Piazza and Walsh therefore urge far stricter compliance with human rights in order to reduce the risk of terrorist acts. The question of respect for human rights in the terrorism discussion thus plays an important role for both the target countries and the countries of origin of terrorism.

Development aid and welfare state measures

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks - above all in the form of suicide attacks. Therefore, the importance of adequate counter-terrorism measures is not only increasing in importance for Western states. Furthermore, the question arises of the extent to which development aid from developed countries and an increase in national prosperity in less developed countries help to reduce transnational terrorism - i. H. Perpetrators and victims belong to different nationalities - being able to contribute.

The economic situation of a country affected by terrorism is closely linked to government action. If development aid contributes to the creation of democratic and transparent institutions, and if corruption should also be combated and economic prosperity created, then development aid can lead to a reduction in terrorism through responsible government action. In many places it is emphasized that it is especially the promotion of education , the fight against poverty and the reduction of social inequality that can contribute to increasing prosperity and therefore to a reduction in terrorist activity. Contrary to the prevailing opinion that terrorists are relatively poor and poorly educated, research shows a different picture. A higher education in particular is crucial for terrorist organizations when recruiting terrorists for strategically important goals. For example, when preparing for transnational terrorist attacks, they must be able to find their way around in a foreign culture to which they sometimes feel a deep dislike. There is empirical evidence that donor countries are more likely to support states with development aid that are more frequent sources of terrorist attacks.

Development aid is intended to promote education and combat poverty. The most important thing is what the government of the developing country does with the financial support. Educational content must be examined more closely. Many religious schools or so-called madrasahs are financed by industrialized countries. The focus there is not on mathematics or the natural sciences, but on religious education that shows many people their future path to terrorist organizations. It is therefore not certain that combating poverty and improving education alone can limit or even eliminate terrorism. Donor countries also assume that the government affected by terrorism adapts its repression measures adequately to the behavior of the terrorists. H. government spending split between education and counterterrorism. Thus, in contrast to the results of Krüger and Maleckova, the promotion of education is not per se the initiator for further terrorist attacks.

However, many donor countries are not primarily interested in fighting terrorism, but instead try to advance their own interests under this guise, such as B. To develop oil deposits . The United States of America is a notable example. You are trying to promote free trade, especially in the Middle East. They looked for suitable trading partners to expand the market and promote prosperity in this third country. But that too creates resentment among the population, as not everyone benefits from it. The primary focus here is on the interests of the donor country and not on increasing the welfare of the population.

Many states use a sophisticated system. France, for example, mainly finances former colonies, while Japan differentiates according to UN election models (i.e. those who vote with Japan get help). The USA predominantly prefers Israel and Egypt or democratic countries in the Near and Middle East. Nevertheless, poverty is to be reduced, education promoted and, above all, corruption combated. Only when the government regains the trust of the population will the influx of religious (fanatical) groups decrease. Development aid is therefore an important aspect on the path to combating terrorism, but it cannot be seen as a comprehensive solution. Securing a welfare state that guarantees social security and does not drive people to the edge of the subsistence level is superficial. A state with separation of powers, which provides political and civil rights, can thus benefit from development aid in the long term. Corruption would be better to prevent, and terrorism would have less chance in the long run.

costs

Worldwide terrorism is cheap, needs very few staff, attracts worldwide attention and gives the "weak" the opportunity to frighten the "strong". Since 2001, around US $ 70 billion has been spent on better homeland security worldwide (as of 2008). A 25 percent increase in defense measures worldwide would cost an additional US $ 75 billion over the next five years. Bjørn Lomborg , a controversial professor at the Business School in Copenhagen, with his calculations strongly doubts the cost / benefit ratio of the means used to combat terrorism.

See also

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Fight against terrorism  - explanations of meanings, origins of words, synonyms, translations
 Wikinews: Fighting Terrorism  - In The News
Commons : Counter Terrorism  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Robert F. Trager and Dessislava P. Zagorcheva: Deterring Terrorism: It Can Be Done , in: International Security , Vol. 30, No. 3, Winter 2005-2006, p. 89.
  2. ↑ cf. Kevin Siqueira and Todd Sandler: Terrorists versus the Government , in: Journal of Conflict Resolution , Vol. 50, No. 6, December 2006, pp. 878-898.
  3. ↑ Germany and the USA intensified cooperation in the fight against serious crime. Federal Ministry of the Interior, March 11, 2008, archived from the original on October 2, 2008 ; accessed on February 10, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Together against an “unprecedented danger”. Deutsche Welle, November 21, 2015, accessed on November 21, 2015 .
  5. ↑ There an Islamist, here a criminal , Tagesschau.de, December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kickl: Big step in the fight against extremism and terrorism , Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism, Austria, December 6, 2018. Accessed December 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ BT-Drs. 15/2361 (PDF file; 488 kB)
  8. ↑ BVerfG, judgment of February 15, 2006, Az. 1 BvR 357/05, BVerfGE 115, 118 - Aviation Security Act.
  9. ↑ Terrorist group: "Islamic State" brings justice to the limit. Spiegel online, September 14, 2014, accessed on September 14, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Thomas Seifert: The United States and the Lives of Others . Wiener Zeitung, October 29, 2013
  11. ↑ Erich Schmitt, Thom Shanker: Hurdles Stymie Counterterrorism Center. The New York Times , February 22, 2010. / The report: Toward Integrating Complex National Missions. Lessons From The National Counterterrorism Directorate Of Strategic Operational Planning . (PDF file; 2.72 MB) February 2010.
  12. ↑ Spiegel.de: AFGHANISTAN - The number of civilian victims of violence is increasing dramatically . February 17, 2007.
  13. ↑ Little success in monitoring financial flows . ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) ARD, November 21, 2006
  14. ↑ International Commission of Jurists: Report of the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , (PDF file; 1.9 MB). Retrieved February 17, 2009.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / icj.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com  
  15. ↑ Telepolis: Shocked at the extent of the damage caused by excessive anti-terrorism measures . February 17, 2009.
  16. ↑ James Piazza and James Walsh (2009): "Transnational Terror and Human Rights", "International Studies Quarterly" 53, pp. 125-148
  17. ↑ James Piazza and James Walsh (2010): "Why Respecting Physical Integrity Rights Reduces Terrorism", "Comparative Political Studies" 43/5, pp. 551-577
  18. ↑ cf. Assaf Moghadam: Motives for Martyrdom. Al-Qaida, Salafi Jihad, and the Spread of Suicide Attacks , in: International Security , Vol. 33, No. 3, winter 2008–2009, p. 46.
  19. ↑ cf. Jean-Paul Azam and Veronique Thelen: The Roles of Foreign Aid and Education in the War on Terror , in: Public Choice , Vol. 135, No. 3/4, 2008, p. 376.
  20. ↑ cf. Alice Hills: Trojan Horses? USAID, Counterterrorism and Africa's Police , in: Third World Quarterly , Vol. 27, No. 4, 2006, pp. 629-643
  21. ↑ cf. Quan Li and Drew Schaub: Economic Globalization and Transnational Terrorism: A pooled time-series analysis , in: Journal of Conflict Resolution , Vol. 48, No. 2, 2004, pp. 230-258
  22. ↑ cf. Ethan Bueno de Mesquita: The Quality of Terror , in: American Journal of Political Science , Vol. 59, No. 3, 2005, pp. 515-530
  23. ^ Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Maleckova: Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is there a Causal Connection? , in: Journal of Economic Perspectives , Vol. 17, No. 4, 2004, p. 142
  24. ^ Jean-Paul Azam and Alexandra Delacroix: Aid and the Delegated Fight Against Terrorism , in: Review of Development Economics , Vol. 10, No. 2, 2006, pp. 330-344
  25. ^ Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Maleckova: Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is there a Causal Connection? , in: Journal of Economic Perspectives , Vol. 17, No. 4, 2004, pp. 119-144
  26. ↑ cf. Jean-Paul Azam and Veronique Thelen: The Roles of Foreign Aid and Education in the War on Terror , in: Public Choice , Vol. 135, No. 3/4, 2008, pp. 375-397
  27. ↑ cf. Jean Paul Azam and Veronique Thelen: Foreign Aid versus Military Intervention in the War on Terror , in: Journal of Conflict Resolution , in press
  28. ↑ cf. Pete W. Moore and Andrew Wardrobe: Commerce and Conflict: US Effort to Counter Terrorism with Trade may Backfire , in: Middle East Policy , Vol. 5, No. 3, 2003, pp. 112-120
  29. ↑ cf. Alberto Alesina and David Dollar: Who gives aid to whom and why , in: Journal of Economic Growth , Vol. 5, No. 1, 2000, pp. 33-63
  30. ↑ cf. Anthony Gill and Erik Lundsgaarde: State Welfare Spending and Religiosity: A cross-national Analysis , in: Rationality and Society , Vol. 16, 2004, pp. 399-436
  31. ↑ cf. Jakob Svennson: Aid, Growth and Democracy , in: Economics and Politics , Vol. 11, No. 3, 1999, pp. 275-297
  32. ↑ Is the fight against terrorism worth the money? , NATO Review, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2018.