NCJ Number
190537
Date Published
2001
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This testimony presented by Bruce Hoffman of RAND before a Federal committee addressed the need to develop a national overarching strategy to combat terrorism and ensure the achievement of the United States national security objectives.
Abstract
Shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, Bruce Hoffman of RAND testified before a Federal committee on the importance in preparing for the war on terrorism. The testimony began with putting the September 11th tragic terrorist events in context. It was stated that prior to this attack the concept of proportionality had long governed American counter-terrorist policy. Prior experiences of other countries struggling with terrorism had shown a failure to develop a comprehensive, fully coordinated strategy negating their counter-terrorism efforts. Testimony stressed that a truly effective and successful counter-terrorist strategy must be sustained, requires commitment, political will, and patience. The strategy must have realistic goals. Testimony presented various types of responses and the means necessary to ensure the achievement of the critical national security objectives defined by the current leaders. First, the articulation and development of an integrated national overarching strategy must be at the foundation of any effective counter-terrorism policy. Second, in framing an integrated strategy a comprehensive net assessment of the terrorist threat, both foreign and domestic, must be conducted. Third, there needs to be more confidence that the U.S. intelligence community is correctly configured to counter the terrorist threats of today and tomorrow, not yesterday. Lastly and most importantly, the Nation’s physical security measures, specifically aviation security, the main breaches in the Nation’s defenses revealed in September 2001, must be redressed. Effective measures must go beyond stopgap measures proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration and show real depth. In conclusion, based on a firm appreciation of terrorism threats, both foreign and domestic, an overarching strategy should be developed ensuring that the United States is capable of responding across the entire technological spectrum of possible adversarial attacks. It was noted that the changes proposed in this testimony are not quick fixes or magical solutions; they require time, resources, and most of all political will and patience.