Ebook: Transportation Security Against Terrorism

This study is the result of the Transportation Security Against Terrorism Advanced Research Workshop funded by the NATO Programme Security Through Science held on 5–6 May 2008, under the guidance and direction of the Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism in Ankara, Turkey.

The workshop was held to better understand the background and rationale of current transportation security policies and systems as related to terrorism. The organizers of the workshop felt the need to address transportation security in the fight against terrorism, an endeavour which required an interdisciplinary approach. This book and project attempted to lay the basic groundwork for future study of this issue.

The editors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the co-director of the workshop, Colonel Petar Nikolovski from the Ministry of Defense of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Assistant Prof. Dr. Hediye Tuydes also provided superb assistance in the planning and outline of the workshop and her efforts were much appreciated, and her name deserves special gratitude in the publication of this book. For his vision and contributions to the advancement of COE-DAT and these types of workshops we would also like to thank Captain (N) Tamer Unver, without whom this workshop would not have been possible.

The Centre of Excellence – Defence Against Terrorism (COE–DAT), under operation in Ankara since 2005 was established with the purpose of supporting NATO on defense issues related to terrorism. There are currently six other states (United States, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania, the Netherlands and Germany) which contribute both staff and funds to the COE-DAT in addition to the framework nation of Turkey. The COE–DAT organizes numerous workshops and courses every year with the goal of advancing academic, institutional and practical knowledge, expertise and information on terrorism to interested parties in NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP), and Mediterranean Dialogue countries, as well as Non-Triple nations and others.

The merit this volume possesses is ultimately due to the arguments and insights of the authors whose essays are collected here. We are grateful to them for their contributions to this volume.

Terror is a concept that dates back to the emergence of mankind yet is mistakenly associated with certain cultures, societies and groups by not only the major powers of our day but also by scholars as well. New developments in the global order associated with issues such as energy security, the environment, ethnic conflicts and the depletion of common goods such as water resources are expected to have a significant effect on the proliferation of terrorism. As acts of terror increase, the need to better understand the roots of terrorism emerges. This paper seeks to address the history of terrorism, its similarities to and differences from another form of aggression, war, similar to terror in many ways, especially throughout history. The major powers of our day are also guilty of discharging terror-like violence throughout their histories with the developing world, even though the presence of a law of war exists. Although terror is different from war in many respects, their similarities, especially when the history of the modernized world is concerned, are important to analyze. There is no scientific proof that one culture or ethnic group is more susceptible to carrying out terrorist acts, however, terrorism can become a real alternative for those societies and people that feel exploited and degraded by other states or groups. The ultimate argument of the paper is that without addressing the underlying structural reasons that have led to the emergence and widespread use of terror by marginalized groups, it will be impossible to eradicate terrorism.

One of the key characteristics of the modern world is the ever growing mobility of peoples and freight. Such mobility which is essential for the functioning of modern economies and societies is dependent upon the effective functioning of transportation systems that are threatened by terrorism. Transportation systems present attractive targets but are difficult to defend because of their characteristics and developments such as globalization and intermodalism. This paper discusses the relevance of these issues for the security of both freight and passenger systems and the strengths and weaknesses of the policies that have been implemented to safeguard these systems as well as challenges that still require attention.

In this article terrorism is reflected from a social science point of view. Terrorism is seen as a complex societal problem that must be analyzed according to the theory of societal complexity. The Compram methodology is based on the theory of societal complexity (DeTombe, 1994) and is advised by the OECD to handle complex societal issues on global safety. This methodology gives directions to analyze the situation, to find causes, to find interventions, to prepare and guide negotiations and to evaluate results afterwards. In acting on terrorism several phases can be distinguished. The most important phase is the prevention phase: not to have terrorist attacks at all. This can be done by focusing on the causes of terrorism. Shifting the main human power and money to the phase of prevention will, in the end, help to mitigate terrorist attacks. There are many causes for terrorism. Some of these will be discussed like the relation between power and idealism, between fundamentalism, identity and religion, and between poverty and immigration. An example of trying to influence one of the causes of terrorism is implemented in a project in Turkey of increasing the level of living. The theory of societal complexity dictates that before finding interventions the problem has to be defined and the causes have to be analyzed. Otherwise only effects are handled and the problem will stay the same. Looking at the way governments in Western Europe and the USA react to threats of terrorism, it seems that threats of terrorism are used to abuse the rights of civilians. Analyzing the ‘war on terrorism’ of the Bush jr. administration seems to support this statement. This results in a double threat for the people, that of terrorist attacks and that of their own government.

Transportation Security became an issue of particular interest among policy-makers and scholars following the attacks of September 11, 2001 and from that moment on, it has been considered along with terrorist attacks. Taking into account the global particularities of critical air transportation infrastructures, this article proposes a model for homeland security transportation.

The terrorist attacks such as 11 September 2001 attack on New York City, 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombing, and the 7 July 2005 attack on the London subway demonstrated that contemporary societies are vulnerable to disruption of transportation lifelines. The loss of transportation lifelines can strangle lifestyles and economies by making normal activities difficult or impossible. Existing methods for analyzing and transportation network vulnerability do not explicitly recognize potential impacts on human lives since they focus on network reliability and performance only. This chapter discusses space-time vulnerability (STV) measures that recognize human activity patterns and their influence on individual susceptibility to network disruption. It outlines a research agenda based on measuring the loss of space-time autonomy from transportation disruption.

Maritime transportation is of the utmost importance for world trade yet the treat of possible terrorist attacks against maritime targets are not well addressed. Ships are not protected from potential dangers as they travel through strategic chokepoints that could be used to create havoc on not only the international economy, but the environment and local peoples as well. The paper outlines the importance of maritime transportation, the vulnerabilities it has and the laws and international cooperation that exists in the area of maritime security. In the second half of the paper, another important concern for maritime security, human smuggling, is discussed in detail.

This article describes the universal legal regime against terrorism and explains the role of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in advancing this regime. The main Security Council instruments described are the 12 international conventions, 3 protocols and 1 amendment relating to the fight against terrorism. An overview of the level of ratification of these instruments is provided.

The freedom of movement of individuals and the free circulation of goods in the European Community are fundamental components of the European construction. These freedoms have been endangered by the emergence of the new brand of international terrorism since 11 September 2001, which has jeopardised the safety of transportation all across the continent. To respond to this threat, the European Union has since been developing a vast range of legislative tools to secure its aviation and maritime transportation systems and to enable EU citizens to continue to enjoy their fundamental freedoms. This paper attempts to provide an overview of recent measures adopted by the European institutions to strengthen and co-ordinate air and maritime security in Member States. While describing the appraisable adoption of a wide ranged legislation, some of the main inadequacies emerge, such as concerns with fundamental rights of the individuals and the lack of efficient action in key sectors as critical infrastructures.

This chapter presents an overview of the problems that attacks against transport networks present for law by analyzing peacetime and wartime situations. It is argued that the relevant frameworks differ according to the situation. When terrorism attacks occur in wartime, the law of war is applicable but most states respond to such actions with a mix of international law and domestic law. The ultimate argument is that one should not treat terrorism attacks in peacetime and wartime as the same.

This report begins to explain the task of detecting, preventing and mitigating threats to the public transport network. Having analyzed existing research and case studies, conducting interviews and personal experience the paper reflects the capability of the public and private sectors to ensure the safety of travelers and network employees. A summary of representative incidents, indicators of terrorist profiles, law enforcement and intelligence knowledge, the role of the general public and the impact international collaboration are considered throughout.

Information technology has become not just an essential element of the telecommunication infrastructure but is also used more and more in relation to transportation systems and transportation infrastructure. While on the one hand the integration of information technology enables the development of highly sophisticated traffic control systems and new forms of interaction, it also enables new methods of attacks. This chapter gives an overview about attacks that took place and analyses the system of vulnerabilities in transportation infrastructure with regard to network-based attacks. In addition it highlights some of the challenges that go along with the prevention and investigation of such attacks.

Transportation systems are backbones of urban life serving thousands of people everyday, creating potential targets or environments for terrorist attacks which aim to put fear in people's minds and disrupt daily lives. Even if not targeted directly, better management of transportation systems are crucial after terrorist attacks, which may reach a disaster level, especially, if it includes CBRN elements. Evacuations are massive operations that require transportation of a large number of people outside a disaster zone and generally take place simultaneously with emergency operations. Thus, the need and main aspects of an evacuation traffic management methodology that includes an integrated look at different traffic flows and network management strategies is discussed in this paper.

In light of growing terrorist challenges, NATO has intensified its close relations with member states to improve collective security. This chapter outlines the different functions and capabilities of NATO in the area of civil emergency planning and NATO's cooperation with partner countries. A special emphasis is made on the Planning Board for Inland Surface Transport (PBIST) and its responsibilities.

Terrorist organizations, non-state actors with a growing importance in international politics, use violence to attain their goals. The target strategy of terrorists has catapulted transportation infrastructure and modes of transportation to a very important place for terrorist organization making it mandatory for terrorism combat strategies to include topics related to transportation in their overall outlook. Analyzing and deciphering terrorist organizations' target designation is of the utmost importance for transportation security. This chapter aims to expand upon terrorist organizations' choice of transportation infrastructure and modes of transportation as targets and to place the workshop held by the COE-DAT in this regard in this larger context. Certain earlier chapters within this book will also be evaluated with this framework in mind.