Washington File, DC
April 28 2006

Report Cites U.S., EU, Eurasian Counterterrorism Cooperation
Terrorist threat increasingly seen as internal, State Department says

By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Europe and the United States continue to work in close
partnership to counter the terrorist threat, a threat that
increasingly is seen as internal, according to the State Department’s
annual terrorism report.

European Union (EU) member states remained `strong and reliable
partners’ and Russia continued to intensify its bilateral
counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and to play a
leadership role in multilateral fora, according to the Country
Reports on Terrorism 2005 released April 28 in Washington.

As for the Caucasus and Central Asia, the report says progress was
generally the rule with the exception of Uzbekistan.

A key concern, the report says, is the terrorist activity and the
presence of terrorist support networks in Europe. `Efforts to combat
the threat in Europe were sometimes hampered by legal protections
that made it difficult to take firm judicial action against suspected
terrorists, asylum laws that afforded loopholes, inadequate
legislation, or standards of evidence that limited the use of
classified information in holding terrorist suspects.’

The report also cites legal difficulties with the new EU arrest
warrant in some countries, the ability of terrorists to travel easily
between certain EU countries and EU reluctance to block the assets of
charities associated with Hamas (also known as the Islamic Resistance
Movement) and Hizballah, both of which the United States designates
as terrorist groups.

Several new bilateral agreements bolstered U.S.-Russian
counterterrorism cooperation in 2005, including an
information-sharing agreement on man portable air defense systems
(MANPADS, or shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles). (See related
article.)

Other positive developments included a counternarcotics memorandum of
understanding and an agreement between the FBI and the Russian
Federal Security Service that has created a `highly productive joint
counterterrorism operational capability,’ the report says.

The report also cites Russia’s role in proposing and securing the
enactment of the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts
of Nuclear Terrorism and Russia’s regional leadership in combating
money laundering.

Regarding the war in Chechnya, the report cites the addition of
terrorist Shamil Basayev to the Chechen separatist leadership
structure as bolstering Russia’s contention that the Chechen
insurgency is terrorist in nature.

CENTRAL ASIA

In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is deemed `a dependable and outspoken
ally,’ while Kazakhstan has improved its counterterrorist laws and
stepped up cooperation, according to the report. Tajikistan has
`offered its limited resources to assist the United States
unconditionally.’

Even though there is a lack of formal cooperation on counterterrorism
between Turkmenistan and the United States, the report states the
Central Asian country has granted blanket overflight rights for U.S.
aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan’s support for the global War on Terror, however, has
`eroded significantly due to the downturn in U.S.-Uzbek relations,’
according to the report.

One of the first nations to support U.S. efforts in the global War on
Terror, hosting U.S. military forces in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan beginning in 2001, Uzbekistan terminated its
agreement with the United States allowing use of the Karshi-Khanabad
base in July 2005. (See related article.)

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said after visiting
Uzbekistan in September 2005 that, while the United States and
Uzbekistan share common security concerns, the two countries “have
had a very difficult period in relations, complicated by grave
concerns regarding the human rights situation and events in [the
Uzbek city of] Andijan [in May 2005].” (See related story.)

The government of Uzbekistan, the report sums up, `increased security
forces to prevent terrorist attacks but failed to address the
conditions terrorists exploit to gain popular support and recruits
for their cause.’

In the Caucasus, Armenia `continues to strengthen its capacity’ to
counter terrorist threats and Azerbaijan has moved aggressively
against domestic terrorism while also actively supporting the
international efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the report says.

Georgia presents a more mixed picture. While Georgian security forces
continue to carry out operations to rid the Pankisi Gorge of
terrorists, Georgia’s borders remains porous because of corruption at
border checkpoints, according to the report.

This year’s congressionally mandated report uses a broader definition
of terrorism than previous reports, and its statistics showing a
sharply higher number of incidents are therefore incommensurable with
those of prior years. Only in future years will it be possible to
draw conclusions about trends with any certainty. (See related
article.)

Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 is available on the State
Department Web site, as is the regional overview (PDF, 43 pages) for
Europe and Eurasia.

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) prepared the terrorist
incident statistics included in the report. The 2004 Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act created the NCTC and designated
it the primary authoritative organization for global terrorism
analysis, including regular reporting requirements.

For additional information, see Response to Terrorism.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
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