WINNING THE WAR ON TERRORISM ABROAD

     Terrorism is a direct threat to our homeland, but in most cases it is a threat that originates overseas. U.S. efforts must assure there are no safe havens for terrorists anywhere in the world. The 2003 Budget provides the resources for that effort.

     Fortunately, we do not undertake this struggle alone. As President Bush has said, “[t]he vast majority of countries are now on the same side of a moral and ideological divide. We're making common cause with every nation that chooses lawful change over chaotic violence—every nation that values peace and safety and innocent life.” The United States is working with traditional allies and new partners to achieve the goal of eliminating global terrorism. Many of these willing partners are only beginning to strengthen counter-terrorism capabilities to assure our common success. This budget requests assistance to support friends who join this global cause.

     Terrorism has many faces and takes many forms around the world. The war on terrorism will not end with the capture of Osama Bin Laden or the destruction of the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has many widely distributed cells that will not cease their efforts against the United States simply because we capture or kill Bin Laden. Nor will the destruction of the al Qaeda network eliminate the threat of international terrorism against the United States. Other terrorist groups who wish to harm or intimidate the United States will remain. Therefore, even after the combat operations in Afghanistan wind down, we will still have a great deal more work to do. And this work will differ in important ways from the wars the United States has waged in the past.

• The war will not be short. The Administration is committed to supporting this effort over the long-term—we do not expect a quick victory.

• It will follow a different pace. This war will not follow a steady, predictable course. There are likely to be intense bursts of activity, like the recent action in Afghanistan, followed by intervals of seeming quiet, though our efforts will not cease until the threat is eliminated. Americans will be asked for their patience—and their trust as the war proceeds from phase to phase.

• It will take more than the military to defeat terrorists . We must employ every element of national power—diplomatic, economic, intelligence, law enforcement, public information, and the military—to defeat terrorism.

Element One: Diplomatic Power

     Following the strong leadership of the President, the State Department created and strengthened a broad-based international coalition to combat terrorism, not just in Afghanistan, but around the world. The NATO nations and other allies such as Japan and Australia swiftly offered their help. We revitalized long-standing relationships with countries such as Pakistan and India, and found common ground with newer partners like Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The United States is also leading the international community’s efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan to create a new, better future for their nation and region. At the same time, we have begun to work with our partners globally, regionally, and on a bilateral basis to forge new mechanisms and capabilities to fight the scourge of terrorism not just today, but in the years to come.

     Many of our friends need our help to contribute to the war on terrorism. And the 2003 Budget makes that help available. It asks for:

• Approximately $3.5 billion for economic assistance, military equipment, and training for states on the front line in the war against terrorism.

• $121 million for anti-terrorism assistance, training, and equipment to help other countries fight global terror. As part of this commitment, the President is requesting $52 million to establish a Center for Anti-terrorism and Security Training (CAST) to provide a consolidated tactical training capability. Once it is fully operational, the CAST will train 7,500 American and coalition partners’ law enforcement personnel annually in advanced anti-terrorism and security measures, thereby enhancing the security of U.S. interests abroad.

• $4 million for the Treasury Department’s Office of Technical Assistance to provide training and other needed expertise to foreign governments’ finance ministries and offices to combat terrorist financing.

     Another critical step in reducing the potential capability of terrorists is to reduce the likelihood that they can acquire weapons of mass destruction. The United States continues to support and strengthen multilateral arrangements that work to prevent sensitive technologies and knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. An important element of this policy is helping Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union to control and dispose of the massive quantities of weapons of mass destruction and missile materials inherited from the Cold War era. Specifically, the Departments of Defense (DoD), Energy (DoE), and State manage a set of integrated programs with a combined 2003 funding request of nearly $1.5 billion for Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union, including:

• $549 million for ongoing programs to secure, dismantle, and destroy nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their components so that we can avoid the potentially catastrophic results of these weapons falling into the wrong hands;

• $235 million, an increase of $62 million over 2002, for DoE's program to secure and better control dangerous fissile materials to reduce the risk of them falling into the hands of terrorists;

• $101 million for ongoing programs to engage weapons scientists in peaceful research and help prevent the spread of the expertise required to build these weapons; and

• $55 million, an increase of $38 million over 2002, for DoD's biological weapons proliferation prevention program.

This funding is in addition to over $1 billion in already-appropriated funds currently available for these programs.

     Aggressive public diplomacy is key to eliminating support and safe haven for terrorists and maintaining the political will to sustain the broad international coalition to fight terrorism over the long haul. The Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are increasing media broadcasts in and around Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East to help inform local public opinion about the true nature of terrorist organizations and the purposes of the United States’ war on terrorism. This effort combined with the establishment of civil society and an elected, representative, post-Taliban government in Afghanistan will encourage support for our efforts to end an era of terror. To help make these initiatives a reality, the budget includes $60 million for continued international broadcasting efforts in this critical region.

Relief workers deliver food aid by raft.

     We must provide economic and humanitarian aid as well. President Bush has made clear that our concern for innocent life extends to the nations in which the terrorists base themselves. The President stated that we were "at war with the Taliban regime, not with the good, innocent people of Afghanistan," and he committed $320 million of emergency funds in 2002 for humanitarian assistance for vulnerable Afghans. The UN World Food Programme identified 7.5 million vulnerable Afghans. The United States has now provided 50 percent of the resources required to meet their needs through the end of March. We will continue to provide food and other aid to the people of Afghanistan, as they build a stable, post-Taliban government.

     By assisting democratic aspirations or by funding education programs to create economic opportunity, the United States can broaden efforts to discredit terrorism’s appeal.

Element Two: Disrupting The Financing Of Terrorism

     On September 23, 2001, the President signed Executive Order 13224, which expanded the Treasury Department’s power to freeze the assets of terrorist financiers. Since then, the Treasury has worked assiduously to detect and disrupt terrorist fundraising activities. Between September 11, 2001, and the end of the year, the U.S. government froze $33 million in assets belonging to supporters of al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, and other well known Middle Eastern terrorist organizations.

     More than 140 countries worldwide are helping to track and block terrorists’ access to money, and as a result, millions more of al Qaeda and bin Laden assets have been seized. And with U.S. support, twenty leading industrial nations have adopted a comprehensive action plan to deny terrorists and their associates access to, or use of, financial systems, both formal and informal. This budget supports these efforts and will provide the means to promote new international standards to shut down terrorist financing and stop terrorist money laundering.

Element Three: Intelligence and Law Enforcement Power

     Improving our Intelligence Collection, Sharing, and Analysis. Our intelligence agencies collect vital information on terrorist groups and their activities. The information they gather provides indications and warnings to law enforcement and military authorities of potential terrorist attacks against U.S. interests, either at home or abroad. The 2003 Budget provides funding for several initiatives now underway to enhance intelligence sharing among federal, state, and local entities. These include:

• The establishment of a center that will strengthen cooperation between the law enforcement and intelligence communities; and

• Improved sharing through the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism, an organization comprised of more than 60 diverse members, including the CIA, FBI, FEMA, and the Coast Guard. A key example of the Committee’s efforts is its new relationship with the State Department to access the Department's existing databases, which will allow certain classified intelligence information to be de-classified and released in a timely, useful manner to a wider audience.

U.S. Marines raise the flag as they set up a base in Afghanistan. The U.S. military established a substantial presence in Afghanistan in an extremely short period of time.

     Improving Law Enforcement Cooperation Overseas . The Department of Justice, through the FBI, is responsible for the criminal investigation into terrorist acts overseas involving U.S. citizens or interests. The FBI objective is to develop sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against the terrorists. The FBI also maintains offices in key overseas locations. In these locations, FBI agents work with their police counterparts to exchange information that may be helpful in preventing criminal acts affecting the United States, including acts of terrorism. In addition, the State Department maintains a presence of Diplomatic Security agents at every embassy worldwide. Their established liaison with foreign law enforcement officials provides a proven platform to further efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.

     Protecting U.S. Personnel Overseas . Good intelligence and police work safeguards not only Americans at home, but also Americans abroad. More than 210,000 U.S. military personnel and DoD civilian employees are stationed overseas at any one point in time, and we have embassies and consulates in all but a few countries around the world. The attacks on the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia, on the USS Cole in port in Yemen, and on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have heightened our awareness of our vulnerabilities abroad. The President’s Budget, therefore, includes $2.4 billion for physical security measures to protect our military and diplomatic personnel overseas, an increase of over $300 million from 2002.

Element Four: Military Power

     Winning the War in Afghanistan . On less than a month’s notice, American and British forces joined with local anti-Taliban troops in an assault on the al Qaeda network and the Taliban regime that gave it safe harbor. The United States committed several hundred aircraft to Operation Enduring Freedom. Initially, we inserted small numbers of lightly armed British and American Special Forces into Afghanistan to support air operations and conduct reconnaissance missions. They were followed and supported by a Marine Expeditionary Unit and elements of the Army’s 10^th Mountain Division. Relatively small numbers of light troops were able to prevail in Afghanistan. We could achieve decisive victories by integrating real time intelligence with sophisticated technologies in cooperation with indigenous forces.

     U.S. military forces were well organized and ready for the initial phase of the war on terrorism. They are superbly trained, equipped with advanced military technology, and armed with new tactical and operational approaches. While it would be a mistake to conclude that all future military operations will look like Afghanistan, it is clear that the President’s ambition to transform our armed forces has been validated by new missions and requirements defined in Afghanistan.

A U.S. Marine hunkers down as Marines prepare to conduct a cordon and search raid at a suspected al Qaeda hideout in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on January 1, 2002.

     Another 1.1 million troops on active duty are back in U.S. territory engaged in critical support missions and maintaining a high state of readiness. The forces at home are frequently rotated overseas. In addition, forces at home provide critical support functions to make rapid deployment for combat possible. The U.S. Transportation Command, for example, fields fleets of tanker and heavy lift aircraft, in many cases operated by National Guard personnel, which give the United States the flexibility to respond to attacks anywhere around the globe. Logistics units make sure that we can move weapons, ammunition, equipment, and food rapidly where it is needed—including humanitarian rations for local populations in cases like Afghanistan.

     We must protect our current readiness and operations. Therefore, the President’s Budget provides a 12 percent increase to bring defense spending to $369 billion, reflecting the President’s commitment to a sustained, long-term investment in the nation’s security. The budget provides an additional $10 billion, if necessary, for the operational costs of the war against terrorism.

     We must also transform our military to meet the new challenges of the 21^st Century. This transformation effort involves not just new technology, but also a new doctrine, new ways of organizing forces, and new ways of doing business. In order to transform the way our armed forces fight, this budget sustains funding for operational training activities, upgrades to training facilities, and other transformational efforts that will make the armed forces more flexible and responsive to unanticipated missions. The 2003 Budget includes a number of transformation initiatives, including:

• unmanned combat aerial vehicles;

• a substantial increase of precision munitions; and

• additional funding to strengthen our ability to collect and disseminate information to warfighters in a useful and timely way.

     The Department of Defense chapter provides more details regarding the military’s transformational activities.

The U.S. flag, bearing the signatures of rescue workers, friends and family of victims of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and the USS Cole, waves in the breeze.

Conclusion

     Again and again throughout this century, the world’s tyrants have made the same error: underestimating America’s character, resolve, and strength. They have sought war with the United States to enhance their own power, but they have instead caused their own destruction. This budget provides the United States with the resources to fight terrorism with diplomacy—with economic and humanitarian assistance—with police and intelligence work—and with military power. The challenge is great. With the necessary resolve and resources, the result is certain.

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