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John Metzler Archive
Monday, May 17, 2010

UN answers Times Square threat with talk; Obama, with a cut in anti-terror funding

UNITED NATIONS — In the aftermath of the failed Times Square car bomb, just across Manhattan at Turtle Bay, delegates were debating and discussing the ongoing UN anti-terror efforts to monitor Al-Qaida and Taliban. Fortunately, the fleeing Islamic jihadi suspect was apprehended by swift coordination between the New York Police Department, the FBI, and especially alert border protection at JFK airport. The reason? The Pakistani-born American citizen, Faisal Shahzad was nabbed by a no fly list sent at the last minute to Emirates Airways.

Also In This Edition

American authorities got lucky. But protecting the U.S. and especially the top terrorist target New York City takes painstaking police planning, dedication and professionalism. Needless to say focus and intelligence plays a key role.

The United Nations has three committees dealing with anti-terrorism, The Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee among them.

Though it’s logical to compile lists of potential suspects, the reality remains that adding names to such dossiers is complicated and cumbersome at best. The UN Al-Qaida Committee has 258 names on Al Qaida suspects, 137 on the Taliban list, and an additional 103 on violent groups. This is admittedly the tip of an iceberg, but still a daunting task. These lists moreover may not be the same as U.S. intelligence uses.

For example, a 20 year old Saudi Arabian national Nayif Bin-Muhammad Al Qahtani just had his name listed — that is one of ten names also used by the same individual!

In its periodic review of the UN committees work, some recent Ambassadorial Security Council statements concerning terrorism are particularly noteworthy. The terminology used in itself, is often most revealing about the mindset of the concerned governments.

American UN Ambassador Susan Rice stated, “Transnational terrorism is a truly global challenge. Citizens from dozens of countries around the world — the vast majority of whom are not from the United States — have been victims of terrorism and violent extremism.” Challenge? Violent Extremism? And how!

Rice added, “The United States recognizes that no single country can address this threat alone. Therefore, the United States will continue to reach out, on the basis of mutual interests and mutual respect, to forge international coalitions.” This sounds more like a managerial or sociological discourse than a policy statement before the Security Council.

Israel’s Ambassador Gabriela Shalev stated poignantly, “Terrorism is a global and vivid threat, transcending boundaries and nations. The international community and the United Nations in particular have a crucial role to play in coordinating counter terrorism efforts.”

India’s delegate Hardeep Singh Puti equally spoke to the point, “Terrorism is a global threat and required a coordinated and concerted global response.” He added that terrorism “threatens democracy and democratic values.”

And Norway’s Ambassador Morten Wetland said specifically, “Terrorism continues to be a very real threat to innocent people around the globe. Terrorism must never be tolerated and can never be justified. It must be pro prevented and combated, both at the national and international level.”

But Israel’s delegate addressed the wider issue; “sponsoring terrorism and permitting terrorist groups to act with impunity from one’s territory are not among the prerogatives of sovereignty. A state which is unwilling to effectively deal with such activities must be held accountable.”

Ambassador Shalev then stated what is so often viewed as “impolite or inappropriate” inside the halls of the UN; “Most alarming in the regard are Member Stares of this organization that support, harbor, finance, train, transfer and smuggle terrorists and weapons in our region.” She cited the Hamas and Hizbullah cases. There are many more.

Despite New York City being the prime target for jihadi terrorism, the Obama Administration has cut anti-terrorist funding for the city’s vulnerable rail and transport sector. New York’s feisty Daily News headlined, “Terror Outrage — Two weeks after Times Square dodges bomb, Feds cut New York’s security funds.” New Yorkers are justifiably furious that President Obama is cutting $53 million from the city’s anti-terror funds.

This all comes back to getting serious about the security threat faced by the U.S. and democracies everywhere. We can’t always rely on luck and good fortune in saving us from our enemies. Nor can the Obama Administration assume that the men of violence will be persuaded by charm and kind words. It’s a real world out there.


John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for WorldTribune.com.
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