Ulterior motives of new US counterterrorism strategy

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Yao Jianing
Time
2018-10-18 23:31:27

The US government issued a new version of the National Strategy for Counterterrorism (NSCT) recently. Compared with the previous version released seven years ago, the new National Strategy for Counterterrorism reveals strong personal characters of President Donald Trump. "Counterterrorism" was highlighted throughout the strategy, but the strategy was not specifically released for counterterrorism purposes. Instead, it aims to use counterterrorism as a tool to maintain regional hegemony and promote the self-centered "America First" policy.

Focus on the homeland and endorse the controversial policies

In recent years, the powerful spillover effects of the terrorist forces in the Middle East have threatened countries around the world with terrorists return and the localization of terrorism to varying degrees. Europe was hit the hardest and the US was often in danger, with many small-scale terrorist attacks. Therefore, it seems reasonable that the US emphasizes counterterrorism locally. However, the facts are not that simple.

The new National Strategy for Counterterrorism is actually an extension and refinement of the US National Security Strategy in counterterrorism.

The strategy identifies six objectives including "the capacity of terrorists to conduct attacks in the homeland and against vital United States interests overseas is sharply diminished; the sources of strength and support upon which terrorists rely are severed; terrorists' ability to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize to violence in the homeland is diminished; Americans are prepared and protected from terrorist attacks in the homeland, including through more exacting border security and law enforcement actions; terrorists are unable to acquire or use WMDs, including chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons, and other advanced weaponry; and Public sector partners, private sector partners, and foreign partners take a greater role in preventing and countering terrorism."

It seems that these objectives focus on local security and are therefore established for the sake of counterterrorism. On reflection, however, they all basically endorse the "American First" concept.

In fact, Trump's "America First" concept has been controversial since he took office. Trump's policies including promoting the construction of the border wall, strengthening security checks at ports of entry, and a series of discriminatory laws such as the so-called "refugee ban" and "travel ban" have all been criticized badly.

Faced with the opposition voices at home and abroad, Trump is actually under tremendous pressure from the public in spite of his apparent indifference.

At this time, the National Strategy for Counterterrorism emphasizing the threat of terrorism to the US can excuse Trump's controversial policies.

According to its logic and driven by the goals such as "the sources of strength and support upon which terrorists rely are severed" and "terrorists' ability to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize to violence in the homeland is diminished", the previous policies including tightening immigration and strengthening border control are not only necessary but also very urgent.

In this way, the original "politically incorrect" controversial policies have become the good counterterrorism strategy.

Create an atmosphere to suppress Iran

In addition to endorsing domestic policies, the US is also using counterterrorism as a tool to suppress opponents and fight for initiative.

In recent years, the strategic pattern of the Middle East has been reshuffled, and the competition over regional dominance has been very intense. Iran, a regional power, cooperated with old rivals of the US such as Russia and other countries to compete against the US in places like Syria.

The US and Iran have been in a spat since Trump took office. In May this year, Trump announced that the US would pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Trump recently announced that he will launch the second batch of sanctions against Iran, reducing the export of Iranian crude oil, natural gas and condensate to zero.

However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the above measures are unlikely to force Iran to yield in a short period of time. In the face of this stalemate, it is not surprising that the US started to consider making a fuss about "counterterrorism."

Iran was mentioned only once throughout the previous version of the US National Strategy for Counterterrorism. However, Iran was mentioned as many as 10 times in the new version. And in the first chapter, Iran was called "the most prominent state sponsor of terrorism." The roots of the terrorist organizations and terrorist activities identified by the US in the Middle East, such as the Lebanese Hizballah and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, are all attributed to Iran's "instigation and support."

It is not the first time that the US publicly demonizes a sovereign state. In the past, the US had attacked the Iraqi regime because of the groundless "weapons of mass destruction." The US has repeated its trick under the current situation, and its intention is actually quite clear. The US aims to demonize Iran and continue to find excuses for isolation and sanctions against its opponents, gaining the upper hand in dealing with Iran.

In this way, depending on the relations with Iran, the US has the excuse for sanctions and even crackdowns. It also has the bargaining chip in negotiation and reconciliation. If the relation with Iran is deadlocked, the US can take the opportunity to consolidate the alliance with Israel, Saudi Arabia and other anti-Iran countries to gain political and economic interests.

Shape the environment to promote hegemony

Everyone knows that the implementation of hegemonism and the acquisition of geopolitical interests are the essence of US foreign policy. In recent years, the strength of the US has relatively declined and it has not been able to meet the needs of its global hegemony.

As a result, the US has to abandon its hardline approach of relying on absolute military strength and pursuing unilateralism. Instead, the US has shifted to more skillful use of all resources to create a favorable regional strategic environment. The new US National Strategy for Counterterrorism has created space for this.

Taking advantage of the power of allies and partners has always been an important means for the US to shape the international environment and consolidate its hegemonic status. The new US National Strategy for Counterterrorism has special emphasis on exerting partners' capabilities. Compared with the previous version, the new strategy has a chapter devoted to the role of partners.

Through measures including expanding the scope of partner selection, encouraging partners to strengthen their own capabilities, and increasing counterterrorism information sharing, the US aims to give full play to the role of partners and reduce their dependence on the US.

Correspondingly, the US has shrunk its responsibilities in global counterterrorism in the new strategy. This fully reflects that the US wants to minimize its responsibilities, reduce investment, and use more resources for major power competition. On the contrary, the "partner countries" that have been pushed to the front line of counterterrorism will have to assume more responsibilities in the so-called "counterterrorism." Moreover, they are facing greater risk of involvement in possible major power confrontation.

The new strategy emphasizes shaping a favorable environment, especially the ideological communication environment to prevent and suppress the occurrence and expansion of terrorism from the source in terms of counterterrorism policy formulation. This is indeed more brilliant than the counterterrorism idea that relied on indiscriminate bombing and precise hunting seen in the previous version. However, it remains to be seen whether the expected results can be achieved.

The traditional American political forces have deep-rooted white ethnicity and cultural superiority. In May of this year, the US government disregarded the religious feelings of the Islamic world and moved the US Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem. The negative influence of this move is still fermenting.

Eliminating the soil of terrorism requires the sincere cooperation with all relevant countries. However, the sincerity of this cooperation is not reflected in the new US National Strategy for Counterterrorism.

Disclaimer: The authors are is Li Lu and Wang Pengfei with the Joint Operations College of the Chinese PLA National Defense University. The article was published on the China Youth Daily and translated from Chinese into English and edited by China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.

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