The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 53 rotecting Americans from terror- ist attacks within the United States depends, to a great extent, on U.S. success overseas. The task is vast and worldwide. It requires enlisting host-country police to track and capture terrorists, uncovering terrorist financ- ing, sharing intelligence with foreign partners, strength- ening border surveillance in remote and unpopulated regions, and building partnerships with foreign mili- taries. In the longer run, it requires convincing entire societies to reject terrorist propaganda and recruitment. A successful counterterrorism policy depends on strong relationships with foreign governments and the people residing in countries on every continent. Embassies are on the front line in the overseas cam- paign against terror and demands on ambassadors, staffs, and physical facilities have increased exponentially. Since Sept. 11, 2001, embassies have hosted a continu- ing influx of interagency personnel tasked with the full range of counterterrorism activities. Under the direc- tion of Chairman Richard G. Lugar, Senate Foreign Relations Committee majority staff visited selected embassies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as the headquarters of four combatant com- mands, to focus specifically on the civilian/military nexus. He asked staff to assess whether the State and Defense Departments are working together overseas in a way that contributes to overarching U.S. foreign policy goals in the individual countries and in the regions. ... A New Role for the U.S. Military The U.S. military has taken on numerous new tasks in the war against terror that are resulting in its having greater presence in embassies. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, combatant commanders were directed by the Secretary of Defense to develop plans within their areas of responsibility that would identify and eliminate ter- rorists, as well as identify and influence regions suscepti- ble to terrorist influence. Some tasks are traditional boots-on-the-ground military missions. Some of the new tasks have military content, but are not necessarily war- fighting. For example, there is a new security assistance program intended to boost recipient nations’ ability to partner with the U.S. military in the war against terror. Still other new tasks go well beyond what one would nor- F O C U S O N W A R Z O N E D I P L O M A C Y E MBASSIES A S C OMMAND P OSTS IN THE W AR ON T ERROR O NE RESULT OF THE WAR ON TERROR IS THE MILITARY ’ S INCREASED PRESENCE IN U.S. EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD . H ERE ’ S AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS . P Editor’s Note: The above is excerpted from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff report, “Embassies as Command Posts in the Anti-Terror Campaign” (S. Prt. 109-52), issued on Dec. 15, 2006. The entire report can be accessed online at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/ cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_senate_commit tee_prints&docid=f:31324.pdf.