Combating Terrorism Additional Steps Needed To Enhance Foreign Partners Capacity To Prevent Terrorist Travel

Combating Terrorism: Additional Steps Needed to Enhance Foreign Partners' Capacity to Prevent Terrorist Travel

"According to the 9/11 Commission, constraining the mobility of terrorists is one of the most effective weapons in fighting terrorism.This report (1) describes key gaps the U.S. government has identified in foreign countries' capacity to prevent terrorist travel overseas, (2) evaluates how U.S. capacity-building efforts address those gaps, and (3) assesses the extent to which the U.S. government is measuring progress in its efforts to close those gaps.To identify the key gaps, GAO reviewed governmentwide assessments of vulnerabilities in the international travel system. GAO reviewed the strategies and documentation of U.S. agencies funding and/or implementing foreign capacity-building efforts to prevent terrorist travel overseas, including those of the Departments of State (State)-which coordinates U.S. efforts overseas-Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). GAO also interviewed officials from the National Security Staff, of the National Security Council (NSC), which oversees counterterrorism policy. GAO met with these agencies and conducted field work in Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. GAO recommends that (1) State develop a mechanism to improve coordination of various agencies' efforts to provide fraudulent travel document training to foreign partners, and (2) NSC develop a mechanism to measure, track, and report on overall progress toward the goal..."

Constraining the mobility of terrorists is one of the most effective weapons in the War on Terror. Limiting their movements markedly diminishes terrorists' ability to attack the United States, our interests abroad, or our allies. As both the 9/11 Commission noted in its main report and the 9/11 Commission staff noted in its separate monograph on terrorist travel, constraining the mobility of terrorists should be a key focus of the US Government's counterterrorism initiatives over the coming years. In light of the Commission's findings, Congress required the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to submit this National Strategy To Combat Terrorist Travel (NSCTT) pursuant to Section 7201 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). The 9/11 terrorist attacks highlighted the need to improve the monitoring and control of the domestic and international travel systems as a means to constrain terrorist mobility. Since then, the US Government has made considerable progress toward achieving this objective. The post-9/11 security environment consists of strengthened travel document security, enhanced screening of all visitors to the United States, improved information-sharing relationships with foreign partners, and increased vigilance of the American people and our allies in the War on Terror. Our foreign partners have also made progress in strengthening border security and providing terrorist-related information to the United States in a timely and efficient manner. The terrorist enemies we face remain determined, patient, and adaptable. While new security measures are making terrorist travel more difficult, terrorists and illicit travel facilitators are continually seeking new ways to exploit perceived weaknesses in travel security: Terrorists seek to defeat travel and border systems by using illicit travel networks, including professional human smugglers. As legal entry into the United States becomes more difficult, terrorists increasingly may seek ways to exploit what they perceive as weaknesses in US and foreign border control operations. Further progress inhibiting terrorist mobility and suppressing the illicit travel industry will require sustained bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, including coordinated law enforcement, intelligence, and diplomatic initiatives. The goal of the NSCTT is to fight terrorist travel globally. The NSCTT identifies eight key steps necessary to achieve that goal. 1. Identify known or suspected terrorists. 2. Ensure broad data sharing across the US Government and with partner nations. 3. Screen travelers effectively both before reaching and at ports of entry into the United States. 4. Build partner capacity to limit and screen for terrorist travel. 5. Detect and apprehend terrorists who intend to enter, or who may have entered, the United States. 6. Dismantle infrastructures and networks that facilitate terrorist travel. 7. Strengthen travel and document security at home and abroad to ensure that terrorists cannot acquire documentation through legal or illicit means. 8. Collect, analyze and disseminate all terrorist travel information to key consumers across the counterterrorism and law enforcement communities.

The report addresses the urgent and growing threat of terrorist travel by Americans to Syria and Iraq. Despite the government’s efforts to control this travel, hundreds of Americans have attempted to reach the conflict zones to join the jihadists. Using numerous briefings, interviews, site visits, and document analysis, the Task Force makes thirty-two key findings dealing with government strategy, identification of terrorists, and disruption of foreign fighter travel, including: Key Finding 1: The United States lacks a comprehensive strategy for combating terrorist and foreign fighter travel. Key Finding 14: State and local law enforcement personnel continue to express concern that they are not provided with the appropriate security clearances to assist with counterterrorism challenges. Key Finding 25: “Broken travel” and other evasive tactics are making it harder to track foreign fighters. Key Finding 29: Gaping security weaknesses overseas—especially in Europe—are putting the U.S. homeland in danger by making it easier for aspiring foreign fighters to migrate to terrorist hotspots and for jihadists to return to the West. Introductory remarks by security experts accompany the text and place these findings and recommendations in their proper context, explaining the critical need for effective strategy in combating terrorist travel from the United States.

"Together we must affirm that domestic terrorism has no place in our society." -President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism (June 2021) National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism (June 2021) conveys the Biden Administration's view of domestic terrorism and strategy on how to deal with it. What is domestic terrorism? As defined by this report, it is based on a range of violent ideological motivations, including racial bigotry and anti-government feeling, and it can take several forms, from lone actors and small groups to violent militias.

Since the September 11 attacks, America is safer, but we are not yet safe. We have done much to degrade al-Qaida and its affiliates and to undercut the perceived legitimacy of terrorism. Our Muslim partners are speaking out against those who seek to use their religion to justify violence and a totalitarian vision of the world. We have significantly expanded our counter terrorism coalition, transforming old adversaries into new and vital partners in the War on Terror. We have liberated more than 50 million Afghans and Iraqis from despotism, terrorism, and oppression, permitting the first free elections in recorded history for either nation. In addition, we have transformed our governmental institutions and framework to wage a generational struggle. There will continue to be challenges ahead, but along with our partners, we will attack terrorism and its ideology, and bring hope and freedom to the people of the world. This is how we will win the War on Terror.