The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism: the national authority over it identification and monitoring of threats clandestine and covert interference with the internal organization of those threats (and detection of/interference with their finances) warning of planned attacks mitigation of incidents (this may involve the organization that also deals with major accidents and natural disasters) Nations differ in how they implement their system of counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations. This page summarizes several countries' models as examples.
As a response to global terror, the United States Department of Defense has created and implemented various special operations forces in the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. These elite forces deployed to high-risk areas in the East to conduct their missions. These missions included direct action against groups, counterintelligence, and reconnaissance. The Air Force special forces are referred to combat controllers. The Army special operators are known as Rangers and are the army's version of Navy special operators, better known as the Navy Seals. Finally, the Marine Corps has instilled various special operations to the Corps: The Raiders, Recon, and Force Recon.
These elite personnel are in the top 1% of all active military. Each force endures their own specialized training course that they must pass in order to be awarded the operator title. Often, the war on terror goes unknown to the public. The public eye is not exposed to even half of what actually occurs in the war on terrorism, and it is important for officials to remain discrete in their mission and covert actions.
The Cia's statement about current day goals is, "Our mission is straightforward but critical, leverage the power of information to keep our nation safe. Our problem set is complex and cannot be solved by one person alone. Our officers have a wide range of expertise. Together, we work tirelessly day in and day out, to ensure the continued safety of our nation. We rely on diverse ideas, experiences, and skills. We are Analysts, Graphic Designers, Operations Officers, Engineers, Librarians, Computer Scientists, Accountants, Doctors, and Linguists, from all walks of life. Working together to protect the values we cherish as Americans. We collect and analyze foreign intelligence, conduct covert action, and develop innovative technology. US policymakers including the President of the United States, make decisions informed by the information we provide. We do work with our partners in the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and law enforcement agencies on many complex issues, ranging from counterintelligence to counter terrorism. We are the nation’s first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go. We are, the Central Intelligence Agency."
Role of counter-intelligence in national security
Counterintelligence, and closely related counterterrorism, can be described as a source of positive intelligence on the opposition's priorities and thinking, not just a defensive measure. Still, foreign intelligence capability is an important part of early warning. Not all nations maintain offensive counterespionage and counterterrorism capability, and not all countries can have a worldwide presence. "Charles Burton Marshall wrote that his college studies failed to teach him about espionage, the role of intelligence services, or the role of propaganda. "States’ propensities for leading double lives—having at once forensic and efficient policies, one sort for display, the other to be pursued—were sloughed over." This window into the "double lives" of states which Marshall wrote of is a less familiar dimension of CI work, one that national security decision-makers and scholars alike have largely neglected.
inferred from Marshall's remark, "the positive intelligence that counterintelligence may supply—that is, how and to what ends governments use the precious resources that their intelligence services represent—can help inform the underlying [national] foreign and defense policy debate, but only if our policy leadership is alert enough to appreciate the value of such insights." She emphasizes that CI is directed not at all hostile actions against one's own countries, but those originated by foreign intelligence services (FIS), a term of art that includes transnational and non-national adversaries.
Nations vary in how they organize defenses against FIS. Most of these defenses are composed of separate services with no common authority below the head of government. The civilian side may be split by foreign and domestic responsibilities, or by intelligence versus law enforcement responsibility.
Australia Australia treats terrorism with a modified law enforcement model, with the domestic intelligence agency authorized to direct the police to make secret arrests and conduct interrogations.
Foreign intelligence on terrorist threats
Foreign intelligence is the responsibility of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). Australia belongs to the Five Powers Defense Arrangement (FPDA) of Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia, which appears to be concerned primarily with counter-terrorism. In addition, Australia is a member of the UKUSA agreement for sharing communications intelligence. They have over 350 intelligence services in more than 130 countries.
Internal security and police The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is the domestic security agency, which, following the British model, has no police powers. Due to this, it operates closely with the Australian Federal Police or with State and Territory police forces. The Australian anti-terrorism legislation, 2004 gave ASIO the authority to have police detain suspects without charge to enable their interrogation by ASIO officers, with severe penalties for those who reveal that questioning or detention has taken place. This change generated controversy over the balance between security and civil liberties, as it does in many countries.
Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC)
Belgium The Prime Minister has direct responsibility for counterterrorism, with the Council of Ministers setting strategic policy. A Ministerial Committee on Intelligence and Security works out detailed policies. Belgium, with due regard to domestic concern about sovereignty, takes a leadership role in European cooperation on terrorism.
Principally, counter terrorism is seen as a police responsibility, coordinated principally by the Ministry of the Interior, with some work in the Ministry of Justice. Either the police or a federal magistrate do investigations.
Foreign intelligence on terrorist threats
The Ministry of Justice controls the civilian intelligence agency, the State Security and General Intelligence Service, which may call on the military intelligence service under specific and limited circumstances.
Measures to interfere with terrorist organizations Two organizations are responsible for investigating and preventing the financing of terrorism. The Financial Information Processing Unit, an independent agency supervised by the Finance and Justice Ministries, collects and analyzes financial data about possible terrorist linkages. The Treasury, part of the Federal Public Finance Department, is responsible for freezing assets belonging to terrorists. In addition, Belgium is a member of the international Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, a 31-country organization formed by the G-7 in 1989 to combat money laundering.
Internal security and police
Anti-terrorism and homeland security intelligence is handled by the civilian intelligence agency — the State Security and General Intelligence Service under the Ministry of Justice.
Four agencies have some anti-terrorism role: the Department of Terrorism and Sects of the Federal Police, responsible mainly for coordinating activities relating to the Turkish Kurd issue, terrorism, and religious sects. the mixed anti-terrorist group, a small group, supervised by the Justice and Interior Ministries, that collects and analyzes information for the development of policy and legislation (this group has since been replaced by the OCAM/OCAD); State Security, which handles intelligence and security matters in several areas, including terrorism, proliferation, and organized crime; the Terrorism and Public Order Service of the Federal Police, a deliberately low-profile group of about 40 field staff with wide-ranging responsibilities.
Warning and coordination
A new organization, OCAM/OCAD (Organe de coordination pour l’analyse de la menace/Coördinatieorgaan voor de dreigingsanalyse), does terrorist threat analysis and coordinates intelligence and police activity.
Criminal justice for terrorists
Individual components of homeland security, counter-terrorism, and emergency management responsibilities are spread throughout the government; different agencies look at various issues; for example, one group handles threat assessment, while another one is responsible for intelligence gathering, and border control and financial questions are handled by two other ministries.
Incident mitigation
Monitoring and response to major disasters and terrorist incidents is under Governmental Coordination and Crisis Center, part of the Interior Ministry, It is one of five divisions of the Interior Ministry along with the General Directorate of Civil Defense.
Brazil
Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (Abin)
Canada
Foreign intelligence on terrorist threats
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.
The military is served by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (DND). Communications Security Establishment does collect SIGINT, and is Canada's only acknowledged foreign intelligence collection agency beyond the tactical intelligence units of the military.
Internal security and police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was once the principal counter-intelligence agency, but most functions transferred to CSIS from the now defunct RCMP Security Service. The service's remaining role is held by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams and National Security Enforcement Sections.
Incident mitigation
Public Safety Canada (PSC) is Canada's national emergency management agency, with a counterpart in each province.
France
France, for example, builds its domestic counterterrorism in a law enforcement framework.
Foreign intelligence on terrorist threats
In France, a senior anti-terrorism magistrate is in charge of defense against terrorism. French magistrates have multiple functions that overlap US and UK functions of investigators, prosecutors, and judges. An anti-terrorism magistrate may call upon France's domestic intelligence service Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST), which may work with the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (DGSE), foreign intelligence service.
Germany
German authorities rely on intelligence, law enforcement, and judicial prosecution to prevent terrorist acts and to identify and neutralize potential terrorists.
Foreign intelligence on terrorist threats Federal Intelligence Service (BND) under the Federal Chancellory and Militärischer Abschirmdienst (MAD) is responsible for strategic-level preparation of military forces against all threats for which they are responsible.
Measures to interfere with terrorist organizations