THE U.S. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING TERRORISM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE XXI CENTURY

International terrorism has ?risen” at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century as one of the key security issues and challenges of the modern and more and more globalized society. The main sources of this political and security phenomenon, which are usually defined as its causes, and in fact represent conditions that are conducive to its formation, development and expansion, are piled up in the deepening social inequalities and contradictions (poverty, powerlessness, frustration, etc.) and in the adverse social conditions (discrimination, exploitation, etc.), that particular organizations, but rarely individuals, try to change at all costs, mostly with the violence, as well as in unrealized political ambitions of certain social groups.

Bearers of terrorism are majorly particular social groups. Those are usually extremist political or para-political organizations, but also religious ones, which according to their ideology and objectives have chosen violence rather than legitimate political methods (democratic and institutional) as a way to achieve their goals. The range of terrorist activities (methods and tactics) is broad and characterized by a growing cruelty and brutality of the attacks, often suicidal, which eventually became deadlier. For that we can be thankful to the modern technological developments, because along with the evolution of mankind terrorism has evolved too, while its types and forms of organization and the modes of operation have been constantly changing (perfected). Today, one of the most sinister terrorist threats is suicide terrorism. Its main feature is the determination (awareness and willingness) of individuals, rarely the whole group to, besides not having any respect for lives of others, even sacrifice their own lives for the sake of ?the common/greater good” (the main goal of the organization).  

Above all, frivolous understandings of the dangers that it entails and the application of double standards by world powers when it comes to its opposition, have contributed to the global expansion of terrorism. The fight against this global scourge is, among other things, aggravated by the fact that the enormous resources, primarily international political will, are focused on its consequences, instead of detecting its profound causes and their suppression.

The beginning of the twenty-first century was marked by the biggest terrorist act in the history of humanity, September 11th 2001 (9/11). In the way that they were carried out, their size and consequences, suicide attacks committed on that day, on the territory of the United States (US) have ensured that the start of the new millennium will be remembered in the world by the rapid expansion of international terrorism, which has shocked and horrified almost everybody due to the direct victims, material damage, the fear and insecurity which it evokes. Today, modern terrorism, dramatically portrayed through 9/11, represents one of the key security issues and challenges of a globalized society, whose frequent, more destructive and deadlier acts clearly emphasize its domination over the other forms of endangering safety.  

Shortly after 9/11, the U.S. President George W. Bush Jr. announced an all-out, spatially and temporally unlimited war on terrorism, with the support of most countries in the world as well as international institutions, such as NATO and the United Nations (UN). This unconventional and still ongoing warfare includes a variety of military, political and legislative actions whose main objective is to prevent and combat terrorism on a global level. For this purpose, the special anti-terrorism strategies, and a number of other relevant strategic documents were adopted, both, in the United States and in the European Union (EU), as well as in it’s Member States. 

The U.S. National Strategy for Combating Terrorism has eliminated the glitches in American anti-terrorism prevention and resulted in raising the level of internal security of the United States. The main indicator of its effectiveness is the fact that the US have been spared of large-scale terrorist attacks after the 9/11. This was not the case with the European Union, its biggest ally, which in the first decade of this war was terrified with two large attacks by Al Qaeda (Madrid 2004 and London 2005). Unfortunately, the EU is still the target and a base of Islamist extremists, which is an evidence and a most serious warning that its anti-terrorism prevention, unlike the U.S.’s, is in one or more segments inadequate (permeable).

Military operations in the first ten years of the war included the anti-terrorist armed struggle in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as sporadic bombings, armed intervention and support of the U.S. and allied troops to local anti-terror fights in Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines, Yemen, Kashmir and Mali. Thanks to them, Al Qaeda has suffered a decline in power and focused on self-defence in the Middle East, but also on launching attacks in the weaker, less protected and more vulnerable European countries. These and a whole lot more, preventive as well as repressive security measures at the national level, have prevented the terrorist operations of Al Qaeda and her related organizations in the US.

Comprehensive security measures (tightening of current anti-terrorism laws and the adoption of a number of new laws and the security and safety procedures) and internal reforms of federal security institutions, as well as establishments of new ones have eliminated the gaps in the anti-terrorist prevention of the United States. Their use has largely reduced the ability of terrorists to travel, organize and carry out attacks in the US, which led them to divert their terrorist activities to the EU. However, in this process of tightening legal regulations and security procedures, the balance between security and values of American society has been disrupted, making it seem that the security of the country has become more important than respecting the rights of its own citizens.

Two supporting, reformative and repressive laws have been adopted after the 9/11 - Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act. They have removed the legal obstacles for conducting investigations, primarily secret ones, and have also made it easy to exchange the intelligence. Enforcing both of the laws resulted in a great number of investigations and arrests of terrorism suspects, but at the same time threatened the human rights and civil liberties of the entire US population. During the same ?War on Terrorism”, the European Union, unlike the US, has not compromised the privacy and civil liberties of its citizens in exchange for the increase of their security, but also it has not been nearly as successful in correcting its own anti-terrorist prevention like the United States were.

Finally, drawing a line after the completion of the first decade of the global anti-terrorist war, it can be concluded that the United States, unlike the EU, have managed to establish a security appliance that fully responds to threats and challenges of the modern era, led by the terrorism. Unfortunately, the necessity to reform its own security system, especially the part in charge of prevention, has been brought to attention after the horrific terrorist attacks in 2001.

However, despite the enormous efforts and vigorous measures by the international community, led by the US and EU, aimed at the efficient prevention and suppression of terrorism at the global level, the effects of this kind of political violence not only did it not decrease, but the number of victims, primarily innocent ones, significantly increased in recent years. For that reason it is indispensable to deeply analyze and critically evaluate all previous antiterrorism measures with a purpose to the successful identification of flaws in them, and finding effective solutions for their elimination.

It is clear that terrorism can never be eradicated, but its efficient prevention is possible, and not only by the use of military forces (hard power), rather by changing the overall social relations in the world, and by reducing the economic and social disparities within the countries, by development of democracy and the continuing of the mass educating public on terrorism and the long-term evil that it entails.

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