Looking back on the 20th anniversary of "9.11": American anti-terrorism does not work

Original title: looking back on the 20th anniversary of "9.11": American anti-terrorism doesn't work

On the night of the 10th local time, looking at Manhattan from a ship sailing on the Hudson River in New York, two blue light columns symbolizing the twin towers of the world trade center are being tested. After dawn, New York will usher in the 20th anniversary of the September 11 incident

Huang Huikang
Text / Yangcheng Evening News reporter Dong liutu / provided by the interviewee
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. 20 years ago, the United States launched the war in Afghanistan in the name of "counter-terrorism" and maintained a military presence in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. What are the effects and limitations of American anti-terrorism? What impact will the dismal withdrawal of the US military have on the international counter-terrorism situation? How to eradicate terrorism under the framework of international law?
On these issues, Huang Huikang, member of the United Nations International Law Commission and chairman of the International Law Advisory Committee of the Ministry of foreign affairs of China, recently accepted an exclusive interview with Yangcheng Evening News.
Huang Huikang has been following and studying the issue of international terrorism for a long time and served as China's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Malaysia from 2014 to 2017.
The United States "walked away" caused endless harm
Yangcheng Evening News: what impact will the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan have on the international counter-terrorism situation?
Huang Huikang: this problem is a little heavy. After the "9.11" incident, the US government put the maintenance of domestic security in a prominent position, and combating terrorism became the first priority. On October 7, 2001, U.S. President Bush announced the launch of a "war on terrorism" against Afghanistan, and then on March 20, 2003, he unilaterally launched a military strike against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" and secretly supported terrorism. In the two wars, the United States has experienced four presidents and paid a high price of tens of thousands of casualties and trillions of dollars. The casualties of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq are even heavier. It is conceivable that the losses caused by the "9.11" terrorist attack are not heavy, the response of the victim country, the United States, is not fierce, and the time span of the "war on terrorism" is not lasting, but what is the actual effect?
When deciding to withdraw from Afghanistan, U.S. President Biden declared that "the U.S. military killed bin Laden and reduced the terrorist threat that made Afghanistan a sustainable base for attacks on the United States", and the United States and its allies "achieved the goal of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan". However, it is extremely ironic that at the time of the hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, isis-k, a branch of the extremist organization "Islamic state" in Afghanistan, made a suicide bomb attack near Kabul International Airport, the Afghan capital, on August 26, resulting in heavy casualties for U.S. troops and Afghan people. This incident not only shows that terrorism is still a real threat facing Afghanistan, but also highlights the serious limitations of "American anti-terrorism".
In the 20 years since the United States occupied Afghanistan, although it killed bin Laden, the culprit of the September 11 incident, the terrorist forces have not been eliminated. Under the eyes of the U.S. occupying forces, terrorist organizations such as the Islamic state, Al Qaeda and the East Islamic movement have gathered and developed in Afghanistan, posing a serious threat to global and regional peace and security. Today, the United States "walked away" and left a mess full of holes, causing endless harm. This is the biggest concern of the international community at present, and it is also the biggest negative impact that the criticized withdrawal of the United States may have on the international counter-terrorism situation.
Yangcheng Evening News: you just mentioned that the suicide bomb attack at Kabul International Airport carried out by the branch of the extremist organization "Islamic state" in Afghanistan highlights the serious limitations of "American anti-terrorism". What are the limitations of "American anti-terrorism"?
Huang Huikang: for a long time, although the United States and other western countries have always held high the banner of anti-terrorism, they have a lot of selfishness and are very stubborn. They have repeatedly incorporated ideological and geopolitical considerations into the anti-terrorism issue, linked the anti-terrorism issue with specific countries, nationalities and religions, and not condemned some terrorist organizations and terrorist attacks against non-U.S. western countries, On the contrary, it reverses black and white and attacks the national and religious policies of other countries. What's more, it also takes terrorist forces as a tool to carry out regional power policy and proxy war. This practice of "double standards" not only does not contribute to the complete elimination of terrorism, but provides the soil for terrorism to survive. I think this is one of the most profound lessons that the United States and Western countries should learn on the issue of counter-terrorism.
For example, with regard to terrorism, countries should have adhered to "zero tolerance" and insisted on fighting when it appeared. However, out of its own self-interest, the United States once "made a deal with the devil" to fund the extremist organization "Islamic state". In the fight against terrorism, it will also "open up one side", and the remaining terrorist forces will make excuses for their involvement in the regional situation. Such a half hearted and even ulterior counter-terrorism is naturally impossible to eliminate evil.
For another example, eradicating poverty, resolving conflicts and improving governance are the fundamental policies to eliminate terrorism. However, in many years of counter-terrorism practice, the United States has obviously relied too much on and superstitious about force. Whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, it has not touched the local social life structure and made no efforts to solve the root cause. The international community's assistance to the people's livelihood in Afghanistan has also been pocketed by relevant interest groups because of corruption and other issues, which has not played a significant role.
There is no room for selfishness, cooperation is the fundamental way out. However, many facts show that the United States always chooses the latter between international morality and self-interest.
Fighting terrorism by force alone is not enough
Yangcheng Evening News: what thoughts does the current situation in Afghanistan bring to international counter-terrorism?
Huang Huikang: the sudden change in the situation in Afghanistan shocked the world. While shocked, people are also reflecting. Different people have different opinions on the conclusion of reflection. I began to follow up and study the issue of international terrorism in the early 1990s. Combined with the situation in Afghanistan, I have the following thoughts and enlightenment.
One of the revelations is that objectively speaking, the international anti-terrorism efforts in the past 20 years have been effective. The collapse of the United States in Afghanistan and the return of the Afghan Taliban to Kabul cannot be equated with the complete failure of the international anti-terrorism efforts. The achievements of international counter-terrorism cooperation should be affirmed in a pragmatic manner. The fight against terrorism has a long way to go, but we must maintain confidence in winning.
In the 20 years since the September 11 incident, the consensus of the international community on preventing and combating international terrorism has increased, cooperation has intensified, and the jurisdiction of various countries over terrorist crimes has expanded. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have made significant progress in establishing a regional counter-terrorism cooperation mechanism within the framework of the SCO, and the momentum of establishing an international counter-terrorism cooperation mechanism has increased, A momentum of joint strike has been formed.
Revelation 2: terrorism is still a severe challenge facing human society, and counter-terrorism must be persevered. However, it must be clearly recognized that although the international community's counter-terrorism efforts have achieved some important phased results, the Global Counter-Terrorism situation has not fundamentally improved, and the terrorist forces have not declined. In recent years, it has also shown a resurgence in some regions, and the counter-terrorism situation is still grim. According to incomplete statistics, in the first four years after the September 11 incident (2001-2004), the average annual number of global terrorist attacks was 1416, with an average annual death rate of 5041. In the first four years after the September 11 incident (2012-2015), the average annual number of global terrorist attacks rose to 13034, resulting in an average annual death toll of 29268. In recent years, the number of global terrorist attacks remains high. Between 2018 and 2019 alone, 14474 terrorist attacks occurred worldwide, killing more than 30000 people.
The United Nations Security Council reiterated in its presidential statement on the 6th of last month that any terrorist act, regardless of its motivation, when, where and by whom, is a criminal act and unforgivable. States should take all measures to combat the threat to international peace and security caused by terrorism in accordance with their obligations under international law such as the Charter of the United Nations.
Third, counter-terrorism should not only persevere, but also address both the symptoms and root causes. Human society always exists in contradictions and contradictory movements, and any crime is the embodiment of social contradictions. As a social phenomenon, terrorism does not exist in isolation. Today's world is facing the severe challenges of peace deficit, development deficit and governance deficit. The gap between the rich and the poor among countries has widened, substantive inequality has intensified, and non-traditional security threats such as extreme poverty, refugee crisis and drug abuse continue to spread. These factors are intertwined and become the breeding ground for terrorism. Therefore, counter-terrorism should not only address the symptoms, but also the root causes. We should solve the problems from the root causes and work hard to eradicate the breeding soil of terrorism. Take Afghanistan as an example. After the start of the Afghan war, the United States and its allies used a large number of troops and advanced weapons in an attempt to cause devastating harm to the Taliban. However, the results of the 20-year "war on terrorism" tell us that terrorism cannot be eradicated by force alone. Without solving the problems of poverty, drugs and long-term stability, the problem of terrorism in Afghanistan will never be eradicated. The international community has increasingly realized that relying solely on force to stop the spread of terrorism is far from enough. Comprehensive measures must be taken to eradicate terrorism through sustained and effective international cooperation and common development.
The Fourth Enlightenment is that counter-terrorism must also oppose hegemonism and power politics, oppose the bullying of the weak by the strong, bullying the small by the big, and suppressing the poor by the rich, establish a more just and reasonable international political and economic order, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. After the end of the cold war, the United States and other western countries tried to vigorously promote their values and ideology and establish a new international order dominated by the west, which intensified many contradictions. A large number of national and religious contradictions hidden for a long time became prominent, and the trend of terrorism rose again. Many people of insight believe that hegemonism and power politics have always been one of the causes of terrorism, and the wrong Middle East policy of the United States is one of the important root causes of the spread of terrorism in the 1990s. The activities of many terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, are directed at the United States and its overseas forces. In 1998, there were 273 terrorist activities in the world, nearly half of which were aimed at Americans and their facilities. Since the September 11 incident, the United States has pursued the counter-terrorism strategy of "force first", foreign military intervention has never stopped, and bullying is even more shocking. This is an important reason why the United States has not achieved remarkable results on the issue of counter-terrorism, which is worthy of serious reflection by the United States.
Counter terrorism requires both permanent and permanent treatment
Yangcheng Evening News: in your opinion, what should be done to eradicate terrorism?
Huang Huikang: at present, terrorism is still rampant all over the world. There is still a long way to go to eradicate the hotbed of terrorism and curb the threat of terrorism. Counter terrorism must be sustained and address both the symptoms and root causes.
We should adhere to the position that terrorism is the public enemy of mankind and strengthen our determination to fight terrorism, we will continue to maintain a high pressure on terrorism, adhere to "zero tolerance", fight when it comes out, and eliminate evil.
We should adhere to the principle of treating both symptoms and root causes. Counter terrorism should address both the symptoms and the root causes. We should make an overall response to traditional and non-traditional security threats, solve problems from the root causes, and make efforts to eradicate the breeding soil of terrorism. Poverty and backwardness are breeding grounds for terrorism. Eradicating poverty, resolving conflicts and improving governance are the fundamental policies to eradicate this "cancer" of terrorism.
We should establish a broad global united front against terrorism. All countries must strengthen the concept of common security, strengthen security cooperation, including increasing information collection and sharing, and cut off channels such as the dissemination of terrorist information, the cross-border movement of terrorists and terrorist financing. It is difficult to achieve fundamental results in Global Counter-Terrorism only by the efforts of individual countries.
We should further improve the global anti-terrorism governance rules and system. All countries should stand at the height of the common security and interests of human society and uphold the authority of the international rule of law on the principle of fairness and rationality.
We should take a clear stand against isolationism, unilateralism and "double standards" of some countries in counter-terrorism, and resolutely oppose terrorism in all forms.
Combating terrorism tests human courage and perseverance. Eliminating terrorism requires human patience and wisdom. We firmly believe that justice will prevail over evil and conscience will prevail over ignorance, mankind will eventually realize the lofty ideal of enabling people of all countries to be free from fear and want.