Analysis and Strategies to Counter the Terrorism Threat consolidates the lectures delivered at an Advanced Training Course (ATC) in Tirana, Albania between 20-24 April 2009. The ATC was planned and executed by the Centre of Excellence – Defence Against Terrorism (COE–DAT) in Ankara, Turkey. The COE–DAT organizes numerous workshops and courses by bringing academic rigor and institutional expertise on the subject of terrorism to the attention of interested parties in NATO, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries, the Mediterranean Dialogue countries, and others.

The COE-DAT was officially inaugurated on 28 June 2005 and was certified as a NATO-accredited COE by the NATO Council on 14 August 2006. The COE-DAT is unique in NATO as a center for defense against terrorism to provide training and education at strategic and operational levels as well as to contribute to research activities. As part of its education and training curriculum, the COE-DAT provides training in selected countries by conducting Advanced Training Courses within the framework of NATO's Science for Peace and Security Programme. It was along these lines that an ATC on the subject of “Analysis and Strategies to Counter the Terrorism Threat,” was conducted by COE-DAT as the fifth ATC.

The ultimate goal of the five-day program was to enhance international cooperation in the fight against terrorism by providing necessary guidance to promote standard training and basic skills for Partner Nation officials. The strategic aims of this advanced training course were two-fold: first, to provide a forum for exchanging views on the latest developments in the area of threats posed by terrorist organizations, their impact on the national, regional, and global security environment, as well as the ways to prevent, deter, counter, and respond to it; second, to promote a wide-ranging partnership of cooperation and dialogue in the fight against terrorism in order to boost transparency, mutual confidence and the capacity for common and concerted actions and measures. The objectives of the ATC were to inform participants about the causes and the dimensions of terrorism; to introduce strategies to counter the terrorism threat; to examine in detail different cases related to countering terrorism; and to explain the efforts of NATO and the United Nations to counter terrorism.

This volume presents eleven papers drawn from a pool of the lectures and case studies presented during the ATC with a view to giving the readers an analysis, and different aspects, of the strategies adopted in countering terrorism. The profile of authors includes academics and also professionals who are carefully based on their areas of expertise.

In the opening address of the Tirana ATC, Colonel Mete Tahmisoğlu from the COE-DAT emphasized that terrorism is one of the world's most serious security challenges. He also argued that terrorists try to exploit ethnic and religious conflicts, ideological differences and instability within societies; Colonel Tahmisoğlu also emphasized that the most important path to success in combating terrorism would be the effective use of international relations and pooling global counter-terrorism efforts.

The course's first paper presented by Ms. Zeynep Sütalan set the stage for later discussions by giving an account of events in the history of terrorism in four waves, and then exploring the four root causes for terrorism.

The second paper, presented by Andreas Blum, looks at the relationship between organized crime and terrorism, and how strategies against the financing of organized crime can be extended to also cover the fight against terrorism.

Professor Robyn R. Mace's contribution, the third article, examines the value of strategic communications, especially with regards to their use by security forces, in maintaining order and countering terrorist messages.

In two separate presentations, Major Julian Charvat first addresses the methods whereby a terrorist organization can create and then exploit an IED event. The second article addresses how a terrorist group could gain access to WMD for use in their attacks. However, both of these papers have also good news in that security forces are indeed capable to counter these specific threats.

In the sixth paper, on the evolving terrorist threat, Jolene Jerard outlines the evolution in terrorism by defining four types of terrorists, and then focuses on smaller groups and individual “home-grown” terrorists, but shows how they gain strength for world-wide inter-connectivity between terrorists, mainly using the Internet.

The seventh piece, written by Colonel Ömer Akdoğan and Colonel Oğuz Kulpcu, looks into the role of intelligence in the fight against terrorists, stressing how the nature of the terrorist threat demands an equally robust intelligence effort.

Keith Spence's paper, being the eighth paper presented in the ATC, examines the suicide bomber, focusing on the motivations and the link to the religious basis for such action, finding the tie tenuous at best but more closely connected with an indoctrinated basis.

The topic of rules of engagement (ROE) is the subject of the ninth paper by Colonel Osman Aytaç who looked into the sources and types of rules that must be considered at various operational levels in the fight against terrorism.

The tenth paper by Colonel Uğur Ersen looks into the methods used to terrorist groups to recruit members and how this will change based on the characteristics of the targeted population. The article also examines the reasons for the need for continued recruitment in terrorist organizations.

The final paper, again by Ms. Zeynep Sütalan, discusses the emerging trends in terrorism and outlines that there is both change and continuity in terrorism since it is a historical phenomenon that continues today.

This book covers the different aspects and dimensions of terrorism and wide-ranging strategies to counter this threat. In the current globalizing world, the reach of terrorism has grown wider. No nation or culture can achieve peace and security at home while ignoring terrorist threats posed to other nations. Therefore, it is hoped that training activities such as the one in Albania and similar collaborative projects will assist multinational efforts to combat the threat of global terrorism.

Mustafa Kibaroğlu

Academic Advisor

M. Uğur Ersen

ATC Director