John Edwards photo

Edwards Campaign Press Release - Edwards Proposes Bold Anti-Terror Strategy And New Multilateral Institution To Counter Terrorism

September 07, 2007

International Institution Would Use Intelligence and Improved Cooperation to Shut Down Threats

New York, New York – Today in Lower Manhattan, Senator John Edwards outlined a bold new strategy to shut down terrorism and make America safer. Edwards said that President Bush's counterterrorism policies have been a disaster and called for a smart, tough and targeted approach that will unite the world against violent extremism and use the power of combined intelligence and cooperative security actions to root out and shut down terrorist cells. Edwards delivered his remarks to a capacity crowd at Pace University's Michael Schimmel Center.

"We need a counterterrorism policy that is strong, fast and hard enough to stop terrorists, but also smart, honest and prescient enough to draw people away from terrorism in the first place," said Edwards. "This will require us to look beyond the structures of World War II and the Cold War to new tools that will allow us to target terrorism more precisely. It will require sustained U.S. leadership—but the kind that leverages the power of partnerships, rather than going it alone."

As president, Edwards will launch a comprehensive counterterrorism policy that will be defined by two principles – strength and cooperation. The centerpiece of this policy is a new multilateral organization called the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO). CITO will create a coalition of partner nations who clearly declare that terrorism is unacceptable and will call out those nations who refuse to join this cause.

"Instead of Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars against large, fixed enemies and protect traditional borders, we need new institutions designed to share intelligence, cooperate across borders and take out small, hostile groups," Edwards explained. "CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence. Together, nations will be able to track the way terrorists travel, communicate, recruit, train and finance their operations. And they will be able to take action through international teams of intelligence and national security professionals who will launch targeted missions to root out and shut down terrorist cells."

The CITO proposal is part of a comprehensive set of proposals intended to move beyond the failed "war on terror" approach. These proposals include: improving human intelligence capacity; strengthening multilateral efforts to shut down the global sale and transport of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction; working to launch comprehensive strategies to support intelligence agencies in other countries; escalating efforts against homegrown radical extremism by engaging and collaborating with the American Muslim community; and reducing American dependence on foreign oil. Edwards also outlined his proposals for combating the emergence of terrorist cells and the support for terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

At the event, held at Pace University, Edwards issued a call to action for all young people to put aside their strong differences with President Bush's failed policies and help rebuild and renew America's standing in the world. "You may not agree with the decisions that got us to where we are today," warned Edwards. "You may not agree with the policies George Bush is currently pursuing. But we are in this struggle together – and America needs you now more than ever. We have a choice today, and it rests in your hands. You are the generation who will help decide whether America will stick with the failed policies of the past, or whether we will aim for the horizon.

"Every generation of Americans has faced grave challenges," Edwards continued. "Today, we stand on the shoulders of the generations who faced those challenges in their own time, and who rose to meet them. Just as they rose to meet the enemies they faced, we must rise to meet ours. And just as they did, we rise to meet them as Americans."

Excerpts from the speech included below. For the full text of the speech, go to johnedwards.com/news/speeches/a-new-strategy-against-terrorism/


"There is now only one key question we must ask ourselves: are we any closer to getting rid of terrorism than we were six years ago? And the terrible answer is no, we're further away. Today, terrorism is worse in Iraq, and it's worse around the world. So what does all this mean? It means the results are in on George Bush's so-called "global war on terror" and it's not just a failure, it's a double-edged failure.

...

"Some politicians, like Rudolph Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and John McCain have responded to the shortcomings and backfires of the Administration's approach by essentially doubling-down. They have closed their eyes to the facts and asked us to accept, on faith, more of the Bush approach. Some running for the Democratic nomination have even argued that the Bush-Cheney approach has made us safer. It has not. ...

"Instead of Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars and protect traditional borders, we need new institutions designed to share intelligence, cooperate across borders, and take out small, hostile groups. Instead of a foreign policy of convenience that readily does business with whoever is available and regularly turns a blind eye when our allies behave wrongly or fail to cooperate, we need a new foreign policy of conviction that requires cooperation in exchange for our support, whether it's arms sales, trade, or foreign aid. Instead of an exclusively short-term focus on the enemy we know, we need a long-term strategy to win the minds of those who are not yet our enemies, by offering education, democracy, and opportunity in place of radicalism, hatred and fear. Most of all, instead of a reckless, solo pursuit of an ideological agenda that abandons our moral authority and disregards our allies, we need to reengage with the world and reassert our moral leadership.

...

"We need a bold new approach—one that is smart, tough, and targeted. This will require us to look beyond the structures of World War II and the Cold War to new tools that will allow us to target terrorism more precisely. It will require sustained U.S. leadership—but the kind that leverages the power of partnerships, rather than going it alone. It will mean raising the level of cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies—while preserving civil liberties and the rule of law.

...

"As president, I will launch a comprehensive new counterterrorism policy that will be defined by two principles—strength and cooperation. The centerpiece of this policy will be a new multilateral organization called the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO). CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence. Together, nations will be able to track the way terrorists travel, communicate, recruit, train, and finance their operations. And they will be able to take action, through international teams of intelligence and national security professionals who will launch targeted missions to root out and shut down terrorist cells. The new organization will also create a historic new coalition. Those nations who join will, by working together, show the world the power of cooperation. Those nations who join will also be required to commit to tough criteria about the steps they will take to root out extremists, particularly those who cross borders. Those nations who refuse to join will be called out before the world.

...

"Yet we also should have a broader, deeper goal—to prevent terrorism from taking root in the first place. Millions of people around the world are sitting on the fence. On the one side are bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and on the other side is America. The question is which way they will go. If they perceive America as a bully, it will drive them in the other direction. If, on the other hand, they see us as the light, the country they want to be like, the country that's creating hope and opportunity, it will pull them to us like a magnet.

...

"Every generation of Americans has faced grave challenges. We have overcome great foes in the past, and we will do so again—in the last century, we closed the chapters on Nazism, Fascism, and Communism through courage, bold new ideas, and strength. Today, we stand on the shoulders of the generations who faced those challenges in their own time, and who rose to meet them. Just as they rose to meet the enemies they faced, we must rise to meet ours. And just as they did, we rise to meet them as Americans.

...

"And as everyone here knows, Osama bin Laden is still at large. Six years ago, President Bush declared that he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive." This is his starkest failure. Apparently, bin Laden plans to address America on the anniversary of 9/11. But I don't need to wait and hear what this murderer has to say. My position is clear. I can make you this solemn promise: as president, I will never rest until we have hunted bin Laden down and served him justice. "

John Edwards, Edwards Campaign Press Release - Edwards Proposes Bold Anti-Terror Strategy And New Multilateral Institution To Counter Terrorism Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/294119

Simple Search of Our Archives