Global Security Newswire

A day before the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks, U.S. President Obama warned of the probability of another al-Qaeda attack on the United States, the London Guardian reported (see GSN, Sept. 8).

"Make no mistake, they will keep trying to hit us again, but as we are showing again this weekend we remain vigilant," the president said in his weekly address to the nation. "We are doing everything in our power to protect our people."

Obama touched on the work done by his administration to combat the international terrorist network, including the elimination since early 2009 of more high-ranking al-Qaeda commanders than at any other point since the September 11 attacks. Group leaders have been killed by CIA unmanned aerial aircraft attacks in Pakistan, Somalia and Afghanistan.

The president praised the efforts of U.S. military personnel who had a hand in the early May assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"We've strengthened the partnerships and tools we need to prevail in this war against al-Qaeda; working closer with allies and partners, reforming intelligence to better detect and disrupt plots, investing in our special forces so terrorists have no safe haven," Obama said (Harris/Boffey, London Guardian, Sept. 10).

In a Sunday speech in Washington commemorating the September 11 attacks that downed planes and killed thousands in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, Obama said, "These past 10 years have shown that America does not give in to fear," the Associated Press reported.

"Our people still work in skyscrapers. Our stadiums are still filled with fans, and our parks full of children playing ball," the president said (Feller/Benac, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 11).

On Saturday, Obama participated in a meeting of his national security advisers that assessed continuing efforts to thwart possible terrorist schemes and examined actions pursued to improve U.S. defenses in the days before the 10-year commemoration, a White House release stated.

The commander in chief "directed his team to pursue vigorously all threat information and to ensure a heightened state of vigilance and preparedness" on the anniversary of the attacks, the White House said. "The president also stressed that the United States must not relax its counterterrorism efforts in the weeks and months that follow, as the safety and security of the American people must be a daily priority for all departments and agencies," the release stated (White House release, Sept. 10).

Under the Obama administration's U.S. antiterror strategy, a Global Counterterrorism Forum encompassing 30 nations and entities is to be formed to provide an informal multinational space where key civilian antiterror needs can be pinpointed across different countries and plans made to meet those needs, according to a State Department fact sheet.

The forum would focus its energies on increasing the effectiveness of justice systems and border control. A foreign minister-level meeting is planned to launch the forum this month in New York during the annual U.N. General Assembly conference.

"The GCTF will also provide a unique platform for senior [counterterrorism] policymakers and experts from key partners in different regions to share insights and best practices. In short, the GCTF will take a more strategic approach to civilian CT efforts and help us increase the number of countries capable -- both technically and in terms of political will -- of dealing with the terrorist challenge," the State Department said.

The United Nations is to cooperate with the forum, which is to provide a platform for aiding the implementation of the 2006 U.N. antiterrorism strategy (U.S. State Department release, Sept. 9).

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday lauded plans for the forum, the Washington Post reported.

"Together, we will work to identify threats and weaknesses, devise solutions, mobilize resources, and share expertise and best practices," the secretary said in a speech commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks.

Despites severe fiscal constraints, the U.S. federal government will still need to provide support to less-prosperous nations, Clinton said.

"We will certainly not solve all the problems of every failed state -- nor should we try. But if we can make it harder for al-Qaeda to fill its ranks and coffers, while ramping up pressure from new and more effective partners, that will make a real impact," she said (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Sept. 9).