Removing Terrorist Sanctuaries: The 9/11 Commission Recommendations and U.S. Policy
Abstract
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) issued its final report on July 19, 2004. A major recommendation in the report was that the U.S. government should identify and prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries and, for each, to employ a realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure and on the run, using all elements of national power. The rationale given for devoting special attention to denial of sanctuaries was the belief that a complex international terrorist operation to carry out a catastrophic attack would be difficult to mount without a secure place from which to plan, recruit, train, rehearse, and launch the operation. To find sanctuary, terrorist organizations have fled to some of the least governed, most lawless places in the world, according to the Commission. The Commission stressed the value to Al Qaeda of the Afghan sanctuary and its logistical networks, running through Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates in preparing the 9/11 attack and other operations, as well as the advantages the terrorists derived from the lax internal security environments in Western countries, including the United States. U.S. strategy to combat global terrorism, even prior to 9/11, included efforts to deny sanctuary to terrorist groups by isolating and applying pressure on states that sponsor or acquiesce to terrorists on their territory and by strengthening the counter-terrorism capabilities of countries that cooperate with the United States but need help. For years, U.S. officials exerted considerable diplomatic pressure on the Taliban government to expel Al Qaeda from Afghanistan. The United States also pressed the government of Pakistan to crack down on terrorist sanctuaries within its own borders and to use its influence with its then Taliban ally.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 10, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA476123
Entities
People
- Francis T. Miko
Organizations
- Library of Congress