9/11/09

Eight years ago today America was attacked. Today we pause to look back and honor those who died as well as those who struggled and sacrificed to defend us on that day and ever since. As we look back, it is worth remembering how eight years ago the world rose united in grief and support, and how Americans rose to support each other and to turn new attention to foreign affairs.

Sadly, the threat of international terrorism remains. But this year, significant steps from the Obama administration have changed the way we fight terrorism – changes that are making us safer today and in the future, and once again inviting the world to stand beside us united.

The Obama administration has worked aggressively to both root out al-Qaeda operatives along the Afghanistan – Pakistan border, as well as enhanced America’s preparedness in case of another attack. Furthermore, the Obama administration has sought to reduce the animosity between the U.S. and the Muslim world, casting aside any perceptions that we are engaged in a clash of civilizations. Such notions served as a boon to al-Qaeda, elevating their stature and enhancing their ability to recruit new members. The Obama administration has also regained the moral high ground, further isolating al-Qaeda. His condemnation of torture, his pledge to close Guantanamo, and the shutting of secret prisons have weakened al-Qaeda’s recruiting ability and improved America’s image abroad.

In the months since taking office, the Obama administration has acted decisively to revamp U.S. counterterrorism policies, emphasizing preparedness at home, while simultaneously taking proactive steps to address growing threats abroad.

• Through a combination of intelligence sharing, intense diplomacy, and military strikes, the Obama administration has ramped up pressure on al-Qaeda’s leadership.  According to a U.S. counterterrorism official interviewed by the Washington Post, the result has been that “they've suffered some serious losses and seem to be feeling a heightened sense of anxiety.”

• The Administration has set out a comprehensive agenda to control and eliminate the nuclear weapons and materials that, if accessible to terrorists, constitute an unacceptable risk to the U.S. The President has put renewed emphasis on the Proliferation Security Initiative.  This summer, the U.S. led a successful UN effort to empower the PSI to inspect ships believed to be carrying arms or nuclear technology entering or leaving North Korea.

• According to John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, President Obama has encouraged U.S. counterterrorism professionals “to be even more aggressive, even more proactive and even more innovative, to seek out new ways and new opportunities,” for dismantling terrorist groups before they can harm Americans.

• With the understanding that “our physical United States border should be our last line of defense,” Secretary Napolitano, together with the Department of Justice, has established law-enforcement agreements with 13 countries in order to head off threats to the U.S. before they reach American soil.

• For years, the Iraq war distracted the U.S. from its worldwide efforts to counter terrorists, and root out al-Qaeda.  Beginning the path toward withdrawal has given the U.S. the flexibility it needs to respond to emerging threats.

The Obama administration has reframed U.S. counterterrorism policy, emphasizing  durable partnerships, eliminating the conditions that fuel terrorism and preparing Americans to react confidently in case of a crisis.  By dropping the unhelpful rhetoric that alienated allies, strengthened extremist narratives, and inspired fear at home, they have made a significant impact our ability to ensure America’s security in the 21st century.

• The Obama administration has re-defined its counterterrorism strategy, away from the needlessly provoking ‘Global War on Terror.’  Whatever intentions were behind it, this phrase instead alienated our allies and, in the words of CNAS President John Nagl, “distort[ed] the picture and magnifie[d] the enemy.”

• As chief Obama administration counterterrorism advisor John Brennan put it, the U.S. has adopted a “comprehensive approach,” that addresses root causes - “the upstream factors — the conditions that help fuel violent extremism.”  In a demonstration of its commitment to this approach, the Administration has worked with Congress to dramatically enhance non-military aid to Pakistan, the region which spawned the 9/11 attacks.

• The Department of Homeland Security has abandoned approaches that “treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than an asset in our nation's collective security.”  Under the leadership of Secretary Janet Napolitano, the department has placed new emphasis on a “state of preparedness,” rather than a “state of fear.”

• Speaking directly to the world’s Muslims, the President laid to rest the notion that the U.S. is at war with Islam, a notion that festered for too long and served to empower terrorists.  By moving away from the destructive rhetoric of Islamofascism, his administration has established the basis for a relationship founded on “mutual interest and mutual respect.”

President Obama has moved beyond the false choice between security and the rule of law, reversing policies that damaged America’s image, divided our people, and served as a recruiting tool for terrorists.

• Ended the use of torture.  In his first week in office President Obama signed an executive order to ban torture and subject all interrogations to Army Field Manual Standards that conform to the Geneva Conventions.  Ali Soufan , the former FBI terrorist interrogator who through traditional interrogation of Abu Zubaydah was able to ascertain that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was the 9/11 mastermind, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee: “The mistake [to use torture] was so costly precisely because the situation was, and remains, too risky to allow someone to experiment with amateurish, Hollywood style interrogation methods- that in reality- taints sources, risks outcomes, ignores the end game, and diminishes our moral high ground in a battle that is impossible to win without first capturing the hearts and minds around the world. It was one of the worst and most harmful decisions made in our efforts against al Qaeda.” [NY Times, 1/22/09. Ali Soufan, 5/13/09]

• Pledged to close Guantanamo Bay Detention prison. Also in his first week, President Obama signed an executive order to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay within a year. This has been a stain on America’s image and a recruiting tool for terrorists.  Matthew Alexander, the pseudonym of the Air Force Major and interrogator who extracted the information that led to finding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi without using torture, told Harper’s Magazine, “I listened time and time again to foreign fighters, and Sunni Iraqis, state that the number one reason they had decided to pick up arms and join Al Qaeda was the abuses at Abu Ghraib and the authorized torture and abuse at Guantanamo Bay. My team of interrogators knew that we would become Al Qaeda's best recruiters if we resorted to torture.” [CNN, 1/22/09. Harper’s Magazine, 12/18/08]   

• Closed a network of secret CIA prisons. President Obama signed an executive order to close CIA secret prisons responsible for many of the abuses that have damaged America’s image. In a 2007 letter to his troops in Iraq, General Petraeus wrote that the torture, promulgated at Guantanamo, makes America lose the “moral high ground” and strengthens our enemies: “This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we—not our enemies—occupy the moral high ground... Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary.” Additionally, Ali Soufan said of CIA interrogations, “The CIA, because of the sensitivity of its operations, by necessity, operates secretly. These two factors mean that by putting the CIA in charge of interrogations, either secrecy is sacrificed for justice and the CIA's operations are hampered, or justice is not served. Neither is a desirable outcome.” [NPR, 1/22/09. David Petraeus, 5/11/07. David Petraeus, 5/24/09. Ali Soufan, 5/13/09]

What We're Reading

Whistleblowers claim they tried to warn government officials of impropriety surrounding contractors guarding the US embassy in Kabul.

A Taliban leader in the Swat Valley is detained by Pakistani authorities.

Ethnic tension continues as a suicide bombing targeting Kurds kills 20 in Northern Iraq.

Iran proposes a new control system to eliminate nuclear weapons around the world, but the United States rejects this proposal, which ignored Iran’s continued nuclear enrichment program. Russia says further sanctions against Iran are unlikely at this time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Russia, sparking discussion as to the purpose of his trip.

President Barack Obama voiced his frustration to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown over Scotland’s early release of the Lockerbie bomber.

A European Union delegation is heading to Zimbabwe to explore thawing relations, after a decade of international isolation over the human rights violations of President Robert Mugabe’s government.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country will be the third to recognize the separatist Georgian territories currently occupied by Russia.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri quits over his inability to form a government.

Commentary of the Day

Ansar Rahel and Jon Krakauer argue that Afghanistan should convene another national loya jirga in order to deal with the political crisis that is surely to come from Afghanistan’s contested election.

Omar Fadhil Al-Nidawi and Austin Bay explain why the Iraqis should be helped in their efforts to reconstruct their national air force.

The Washington Post wonders whether Obama will be able to juggle engagement and the threat of tougher sanctions following Iran’s recent proposal.

Two retired generals take Dick Cheney to task for his ardent pro-torture stance and fearmongering after leaving office.