NATO - NATO and the fight against terrorism

NATO and the fight against terrorism

Countering Terrorism

The fight against terrorism is high on NATO’s agenda. Both the Strategic Concept¹ and the Lisbon Summit Declaration² make clear that terrorism poses a real and serious threat to the security and safety of the Alliance and its members. NATO will continue to fight this scourge, individually and collectively, in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN Charter. NATO’s new Policy Guidelines for Alliance work on counter-terrorism focus on improved threat awareness, adequate capabilities and enhanced engagement with partner countries and other international actors.

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NATO Secretary General and the fight against terrorism

Publications

Countering Terrorism 05 Sep. 2011 The essence of NATO's role in the fight against terrorism is protecting people. NATO offers a unique range of assets to the international community. This Briefing explains the scope and type of activities NATO is undertaking to fight the scourge of terrorism.

Tackling New Security Challenges 31 Jan. 2012 Some of the most important challenges facing NATO in the coming decades include terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber security, the threat of missile attack, energy security and piracy. This Briefing discusses the ways in which the Alliance aims to tackle these new security challenges.

Response to terrorism 28 Feb. 2008 The essence of NATO's role in the fight against terrorism is protecting people. NATO offers a unique range of assets to the international community in the fight against terrorism. First, it is a permanent consultation forum that can transform discussions into collective decision. Second, it can turn decisions into effective action, which can be backed up by an unparalleled military capability. Third, NATO is part of an impressive network of cooperative relationships with many partners.

NATO Review

Threats from within 09 Aug. 2012 In this edition of NATO Review, we look at the dangers of 'the enemy within'. Homegrown terrorists are one of the best - or worst - examples of asymmetrical war. They are difficult to detect, often blend in well with the local population and can strike with devastating effect. But how new is this? And should we be worried about this increasing?

What terror attacks tell us: the German example 09 Aug. 2012 On Monday July 2, 2012 German security authorities were shocked, as the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Heinz Fromm, resigned. His agency, the Verfassungsschutz located in Cologne, had made a series of errors in the investigation of a neo-Nazi terror cell in Thuringia.

Thoughts of a former extremist 31 Jul. 2012 Few can give a more personal insight into how serious home-grown terrorism is than Maajid Naawaz. Formerly a member of Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, he now heads up a counter-extremist foundation. Here he explains why are people drawn to extremism and what it means for potential responses.

Homegrown terrorism: how the EU sees it 31 Jul. 2012 Homegrown terrorism is clearly a domestic, national issue. So how can a multinational organisation like the EU play a meaningful role? The man who fills the post of EU counter-terrorism coordinator explains what can - and can't - be done by the EU. And highlights some of the impacts it has already had.

The economic downturn: a boon for home-grown terrorists? 31 Jul. 2012 Will the present economic downturn - with its higher rates of youth unemployment, depression and disillusionment - have any impact on homegrown terrorist recruitment or activity. Dr Brooke Roger looks at how much we can know.

Terror, coercion and foreign policy 31 Jul. 2012 Mitch Silber has looked through masses of profiles of homegrown terrorists and their motivations in his role as the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Division’s Analytic and Cyber Units. Here he presents some of the main themes that emerged from that analysis.

Not gone - but not as strong 31 Jul. 2012 Jason Burke has followed the evolution of al Qaida since the last century. Here he looks at how the group has evolved, where it stands now - and the implications for homegrown terrorism.

Homegrown failure: why the domestic terror threat is overblown 11 Jul. 2012 Seek and you shall find is an old phrase. But it is an apt one, argues Benjamin Friedman, when applied to the search for something which has almost certainly always been there.

Homegrown terrorism in pictures 11 Jul. 2012 The tag ‘homegrown terrorism’ may be new. But the activity certainly isn’t. This photostory highlights some previous examples – stretching back almost a century.

“New” terrorism in the Western world? 11 Jul. 2012 Homegrown terrorism is not new, argues Marc Sageman. It is as old as political struggle. But it does have new elements in it – not least being the Internet.

10 years later: lessons learnt 08 Sep. 2011 The ten years since the 9/11 attacks have thrown up new and challenging security risks. How well have we kept up with them? Has NATO changed enough? In this edition, we look at what the security world has learnt since that historic day.

BBC Interview of Baroness Manningham-Buller 07 Oct. 2011 Baroness Manningham-Buller was the Director of the UK's MI5 security service from 2002 to 2007. She was already a counter-terrorism expert by the time of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and went on to rise up through the organisation. Earlier this year, she gave a series of lectures to the BBC.

NATO ten years after: learning the lessons 08 Sep. 2011 In retrospect, instead of heralding NATO's decline, "09/11" became the catalyst for the most fundamental changes in NATO's history, argues Michael Ruhle. Yet for the NATO Allies, the questions they had to ponder from the outset were as obvious as they were profound.

Being NATO's Secretary General on 9/11 08 Sep. 2011 Being NATO Secretary General is always a job fraught with challenges and surprises. But on 11 September, 2001, Lord Robertson had one of the most extraordinary experiences of any NATO Secretary General. Here, he recounts how the day panned out.

Images of terror: threats' changing faces 08 Sep. 2011 A picture is worth a thousand words - and these pictures may be more. In this photostory, we outline some of the most striking images of the threats that came on, and since, 9/11.

New threats: the cyber-dimension 08 Sep. 2011 September 11th, 2001 has often been called the day that changed everything. This might not be true for our day to day life, but in security, it really marked a new era. Together with the Twin Towers, our traditional perceptions of threats collapsed. The Cold War scenario that had dominated for over 50 years was radically and irrevocably altered.

NATO after 9/11: a US perspective 08 Sep. 2011 For a truly modern approach to bringing NATO up to speed on 21st century security threats, the Alliance needs smart spending, more commitment and clearer planning, argues Dr Jacquelyn Davis.

The mechanics of terrorism 31 May. 2009 In this issue, we look at how much it costs to tackle terrorism, its changing tactics, its ability to be both targeted and indiscriminate, its sources of support and how organisations like NATO can tackle it.

Yemen: danger ahead? 07 Oct. 2010 Yemen is a typical example of a faraway land of which we know little. But the events taking place there may change our attitude. As the base of a new branch of al Qaida, the training camp of suicide bombers, a country on the verge of state failure and/or civil war and with perhaps the first capital city to run out of water, Yemen clearly deserves more attention than it gets now - but this may change very soon.

Maritime security: sink or swim 30 Jun. 2010 How are the seas kept safe? How much does piracy cost ships and insurers? And are anti-terrorist operations at sea set to spread? In this edition, NATO Review sets out to see how what happens at sea affects lives on land. We ask military and business leaders about how important piracy really is and go on a live NATO operation to see up close what it does at sea.

Terrorists and organised crime: just business? 29 Sep. 2009 Terrorists and organised crime groups are working together on a daily basis. In counterfeiting, drugs, arms, and cyber and financial crime. The difference between these groups is increasingly blurred. They often share techniques, personnel, skills and money making activities. NATO Review talks to some key experts about how this happened and where it is leading.

How to keep ammunition out of the hands of terrorists 03 Jun. 2011 Gillian Goh and Christopher Clark of the UN explain how new international guidelines could help put small arms and ammunitions further from the reach of terror groups, prevent fraud and reduce accidents

Photo galleries

NATO and the fight against terrorism - Counter IEDs 01 Jan. 2011 IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices, are one of the main causes of casualties among troops and exact a heavy toll on local populations.

NATO and the fight against terrorism - The CBRN Battalion 01 Jan. 2011 Rapid advances in biological science and technology continue to increase the bio-terrorism threat and there are indications that terrorists intend to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials for malicious purposes.

NATO and the fight against terrorism - Operation Active Endeavour 01 Jan. 2011 NATO launched the counter-terrorism operation Active Endeavour in October 2001, as part of a package of measures undertaken by the Alliance in response to the 09/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. (Photos by PO2 Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert GEN)