Hemispheric Response to Terrorism: A Call for Action

• Author: John Cope and Janie Hulse
• Pages: 413-434

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Hemispheric Response to Terrorism

Hemispheric Response

to Terrorism: A Call for Action

John Cope and Janie Hulse

Introduction

There is an undeniable threat of terrorism in the Western Hemisphere

and a determined effort to combat it. The events of September 11, 2001

launched a global war against terrorists, testing foreign and security policies

across the region. Several neighbouring Latin American countries also

counteract global terrorism’s national equivalent. With symbiotic ties to the

region’s transnational criminal organisations, international and domestic

terrorists have gained in sophistication and capability. Taking advantage of

weak governments, they exploit porous borders and ungoverned zones at

will. In this environment, homeland security has become unachievable acting

alone: states must work together if the combined challenge of terrorists and

associated criminal networks is to be eliminated.

The attacks on Washington and New York have prompted preliminary

collaborative efforts to prevent future acts of terror. ‘Smart Border’ initiatives

can be seen in North America; a long-standing subregional security apparatus

is flexing in the Caribbean; international outreach in support of its crisis is

being pursued by Colombia; and intelligence cooperation is being explored

in the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Actions taken by

the Organization of the American States (OAS) to react against terrorism,

energising the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism and approving

an unprecedented Convention focused on prevention, are particularly hopeful.

With the United States somewhat distracted by the global war against

terrorism elsewhere, there is space for the Latin American and Caribbean

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Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror

nations to work collectively and proactively to prevent terrorism in the

Western Hemisphere. This chapter assesses the complex nature of terrorism

in the Western Hemisphere and explores how states are responding

individually and collectively, particularly at the hemispheric level through

the OAS. The examination leads to a call for action in the region immediately

and in the near term. Several suggestions are offered to meet the call. The

path the chapter follows leads through a series of questions: What terrorist

threats does the region face? Where are the ‘hot beds’? Do national responses

to terrorism follow a pattern? What role has the OAS played in fostering

multinational cooperation? Can the organisation of the struggle against

international terrorism be improved? We will argue for greater regional

cooperation and the need to expand the OAS’ authority and scope to provide

a more holistic approach to counter-terrorism that could save the Americas

from a repeat of September 11 or worse.

Definitions and Clarifications

Terrorism is a global phenomenon that encompasses many forms of

political violence, ranging from the international jihad of Islamic extremists

against Israel, the United States and Western influences in general to national

or domestic resistance campaigns waged by illegal armed groups from within

and outside state boundaries. It is easy to recognise but difficult to define,

particularly when actors are lumped together without differentiation as occurs

with the US list of foreign terrorist organisations. A review of literature

suggests that practitioners and academics adapt the way the word is used to

suit different interests and audiences. Washington policy makers are no

exception; perceptions of terrorism differ in US security strategy documents.

The global-in-scope National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, released in

February 2003, for example, states that terrorism is ‘premeditated, politically

motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational

groups or clandestine agents’.1 The narrowly focused National Strategy for

Homeland Security is far more specific. It claims that terrorism is:

any premeditated, unlawful act dangerous to human life or public welfare

that is intended to intimidate or coerce civilian populations or

governments…(covering) kidnappings; hijackings; shootings; conventional

bombings; attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear

weapons; cyber attacks; and any number of other forms of malicious