Current problems of Europe

Current US approaches to counter-terrorism

Манойло А.В.

Manoilo Andrey Viktorovich – Sc.D. in Political Sciences, Ph.D in Physi-cal and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Leading Researcher INION RAS

Abstract

The fight against terrorism in the United States today is one of the priority areas for ensuring national security. Counterterrorism is carried out by US ministries and departments in close coordination and interaction with each other, with the wide involvement of the resources of various public associations and civil society structures. At the same time, the activity of US law enforcement agencies to counter terrorism at the federal level (in the US executive branch) is largely decentralized and is carried out mainly by the forces of five key ministries and departments: the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service; moreover, the US Department of Homeland Security plays the role of a system integrator – an «umbrella structure», which brought together under its leadership various departments and services involved in the fight against terrorism (except for the CIA and the FBI). The American strategy of combating terrorism is based on the principles of inevitability of punishment, «no negotiations and concessions», and pressure on countries that, to one degree or another, «support» terrorism. In general, the system of combating terrorism in the United States is modern and meets the latest realities, challenges and threats in this area. It is constantly being improved and reformed, increasing its effectiveness. At the same time, modern terrorism, responding to new forms and methods of struggle, is constantly evolving, striving to adapt to the new conditions of its existence; the emergence of its new, evolutionarily more advanced, structurally more complex forms requires new organizational and technological solutions from the US counterterrorism system.

Keywords

terrorism, the USA, CIA, Syria, international relations, national security

Download text