6.1 Counterterrorism Mission

WHO? The Department of Homeland Security.

WHAT? Works with the FBI, CIA, and the rest of the Intelligence Community to thwart terrorism.

WHEN? DHS was given this mission when it was created by the 2002 Homeland Security Act.

WHERE? DHS is a partner in the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington DC.

WHY? To safeguard the nation from domestic catastrophic destruction.

Counterterrorism is a priority homeland security mission over which the Department of Homeland Security has surprisingly little direct authority. Remember, terrorism is defined under Title 18 Section 2331 US Code as a violent crime with the intent to coerce US government. It is a crime distinguished by motive. Individuals or groups who plot or commit crimes with the purpose of coercing US government are guilty of terrorism and are called terrorists. It just so happens that three of the most violent crimes in US history were committed by terrorists: 9/11, Oklahoma City, and the 1983 Marine Corps Barracks Bombing. That means terrorism remains a potential motive for inflicting domestic catastrophic destruction. If you remember from Topic 3.2, we said that the best defense against terrorism is actionable intelligence; obtaining the information necessary to stop an attack before it begins. Also remember we told you intelligence was the responsibility of the FBI and CIA. The FBI is the lead federal agency responsible for domestic intelligence, and the CIA is the lead federal agency responsible for foreign intelligence. It is their mission to identify terrorists and stop them before they act. DHS works with the FBI and CIA, together with the 17 members of the Intelligence Community, and share terrorist information through the National Counterterrorism Center. Unlike most members of the US Intelligence Community, DHS doesn’t have a specific collection capability. They don’t run spies, operate satellites, gather signals, or other such collection activities. No, but they do have one unique piece of information that is specifically helpful to domestic counterterrorism, and that is information they get from State and Local Fusion Centers. All 54 States and Territories have a Fusion Center. Some more, for a total of 72 nation-wide. Fusion Centers are a two-way source of information. State and Local authorities receive national intelligence from DHS, and DHS receives law enforcement information from State and Local authorities. State and Local law enforcement are most likely to uncover and thwart a terrorist plot. Which raises the question, what happens if somebody is suspected of terrorist activities? The first course of action is to arrest the suspected terrorist and render them to criminal trial. A fair trial followed by a fair hanging? What if they’re not in the US? If they’re not in the US, we will try and extradite them from the country where they’re hiding. Then we’ll return them to the US for trial. What if we don’t have an extradition agreement with that country, or they just don’t cooperate? We may attempt to “render” the suspects to US custody by kidnapping. After Egypt refused to turn over the terrorists who hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in October 1985, President Reagan ordered the plane carrying them intercepted. After landing in Sicily, the hijackers were taken into Italian custody. And what if we can’t kidnap them? Then we might try to kill them where they are. The US operates the Predator drone carrying a Hellfire missile that can be remotely flown almost anywhere in the world. In September 2011, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American charged as a terrorists, was killed by a Predator drone in Yemen. Wasn’t that illegal? Didn’t that deprive him of his Constitutional right to a trial by jury? Abraham Lincoln argued that war grants the President emergency powers, allowing him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Other Presidents have also invoked emergency powers. In 2010 the Obama Administration created a “Disposition Matrix” to legally determine when lethal force was authorized. Looks like al-Awlaki fell afoul of “The Matrix”. What about the prisoners at Guantanimo Bay? Of the 39 remaining prisoners at Gitmo, most are classified “unlawful combatants”, not terrorists. Khalid Sheik Mohammed who planned 9/11 is also there, and he is classified a “terrorist”. It will be a long time before he sees the inside of a court room out of concern for reprisals his trial might cause.