Post-millennium terrorism review

Vital Speeches of the Day; New York; Mar 1, 2000; Michael A Sheehan;

Abstract:

Today§s terrorist threat comes primarily from non-state actors with few ties to governments, such as the al-Qiada network, Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, and the FARC in Colombia. Terrorists are acting more on their own and are resorting to car bombs, suicide bombings, and attacking civilian buildings and diplomatic posts. In general, these emerging non-state actors exhibit less constraint than state actors and other groups did in past decades. The main instruments of counterterrorism will remain constant: American leadership, zero tolerance, and draining the "swamps" - the spaces in which terrorists operate, plan, move and work - so that terrorists have nowhere to go and nowhere to hide.

Full Text:

Copyright City News Publishing Company Mar 1, 2000

[Headnote]

TERRORISM IS TAKING ON A WHOLE NEW FACE

Address by MICHAEL A. SHEEHAN, U.S. Amabassador Coordinator for Counterterrorism Delivered to the Brookings Institution, Washington, D. C., February 10, 2000

I want to thank Mr. Nessen and Mr. Armacost for helping to arrange this event. I§m also looking forward to participating in the panel following this with Richard Haass. Thank you for this opportunity to talk about the changing threats and challenges we face from terrorism, a subject many of you have followed closely. Today I would like to review the lessons from the recent millennial threat period, assess the current terrorism threat, and highlight American counterterrorism priorities. Then I want to leave you with a description of the road ahead in responding to the threat.





Michael A Sheehan