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Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism in Post -9/11 Germany |
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by Gad J. Bensinger
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Following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Germany was shocked and embarrassed to learn that 3 of the 19 hijackers along with at least 3 other men believed to have planned and plotted the attacks on New York and Washington, belonged to an Al Qaeda terrorist cell that operated freely out of a southern suburb of Hamburg, Germany.
The fact, however, that Germany was used by Al Qaeda as a base of operations to launch terrorist attacks should not have come as a great surprise. As pointed out by Rohan Gunaratna (2002) in his book, Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, Germany had been a center for “terrorist propaganda, recruitment, fund raising, investment, procurement and shipping” (p.129) for a long time. Germany’s intelligence agencies had warned that radical Islamic organizations were taking advantage of their presence in the country to support terrorism, yet no German intelligence agents were planted within Germany’s Moslem community before September 11 (Baer, 2002).
Because of its Nazi past, after World War II, Germany decentralized its police and created a constitutional and democratic political system that emphasizes the right to privacy and other constitutional protections analogous to the one enjoyed in the United States. Consequently, new directives giving more power to law enforcement agencies are viewed by most Germans with suspicion. It is now evident that the low priority given to surveillance of Islamic extremists before September 11, coupled with Germany’s fragmented and decentralized structure of law enforcement, contributed to the failure of the intelligence services and the police to prevent what the German magazine Der Spiegel, in a lead article, referred to as Pearl Harburg (Brinkbaumer et al., 2001).
This article sheds some light on Germany’s post-9/11 policies and efforts to counter the threat of international terrorism within its borders without damaging its democratic principles.
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Best Practices in Identifying Terrorists During Traffic Stops and On Calls for Service |
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by Dean C. Alexander and Terry Mors
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.jpg) Following the tragic September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the federal government responded with a myriad of awareness and enforcement strategies. Each time a threat was detected, information was passed on to state and local law enforcement to be on heightened alert. Yet, police officers and administrators alike were often unaware of what to look for in fighting terrorism. Administrators cancelled officers’ days off, put more officers on the streets, and espoused counterterror rhetoric. Some of this was a legitimate response, and other activities were knee-jerk reactions. Still, the goal was to remain vigilant, keep eyes and ears open, and report anything suspicious. Yet, officers were not told what specific approaches and tactics they should develop and implement as integral components in the “War on Terror.”
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Colonel Arnaldo Claudio: Perspectives on Military Law Enforcement, Iraq, and the War on Terrorism |
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by Graham H. Turbiville
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“Military Police have become one of the most important armed forces components for creating stability in threatened states or areas. In this role, however, military law enforcement leadership is a two-edged sword, and especially so in wartime. Outstanding leadership can help advance a new or struggling democracy, while weak—or reprehensible—leadership may well change the outcome of the struggle.”
— Colonel Arnaldo Claudio on
a Central MP Lesson from Iraq
Military Police Skills and Evolving Threats
 The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States sparked fundamental changes in focus and structure for US military forces, national intelligence organizations, and a number of civilian local law enforcement organizations. For the Army’s Military Police Corps, the ensuing US war on terrorism in remote theaters and complex operational environments around the world immediately placed a premium on the unique skills, structure and capabilities possessed by military law enforcement units, even as they were still in the process of assessing future conflict requirements in the wake of the Cold War. Colonel Arnaldo Claudio—a career Military Police (MP) officer whose observations and perspectives are set out below—highlights some of the operational challenges faced by post-9/11 military law enforcement, addresses the contributions and challenges faced by MP units, and underscores the importance of leadership and even-handed, consistent, and intelligent approaches to military policing in even the most brutal counter-insurgency environment. |
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SUDAN: 'The Entire Darfur Region is a Crime Scene' |
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by Administrator
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.jpg) Rights advocacy groups are intensifying calls for the arrest of war crimes suspects as the U.N. Security Council discusses the situation in Darfur with the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum this week.
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EUROPE: No Asylum, Now Go To Jail |
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by Administrator
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The so-called returns directive sets common rules across the Union for the treatment of failed asylum-seekers prior to their expulsion from EU territory. Its most controversial provision is that it allows for those awaiting deportation to be locked up for a maximum of 18 months.
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