Interior Minister attends meeting on counterterrorism

Washington, Apr. 11(BNA): As part of the official visit of Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa to the United States, the Atlantic Council has held a meeting entitled "US Counterterrorism and Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Middle East". Washington, Apr. 11(BNA): As part of the official visit of Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa to the United States, the Atlantic Council has held a meeting entitled "US Counterterrorism and Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Middle East". The council that is considered an influential research organisation in the international affairs and a forum for international politicians, businessmen and intellectuals. The session was also attended by officials from the US management, Congress Members, officials from intellectual and research organisations and decision-making departments in the United States. Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon M. Wilson welcomed the visit of Interior Minister to the United States as part of the strong ties between the two countries. The minister delivered the following speech: I am delighted to be here again in Washington and to have this chance to share some views and insights with so many knowledgeable security and foreign policy professionals. As I am sure, you are all aware; the Kingdom of Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy in the heart of the Arabian Gulf. And Bahrain is a leader in the region in democratic development, women’s empowerment, religious freedom, workers’ rights, freedom of expression and combating human trafficking, ( to name just a few.) Bahrain is a uniquely tolerant and diverse society, with Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, and other faiths all freely practising their religion and maintaining their places of worship. This year, we celebrate the centenary of Bahrain’s police, founded in 1919 as what we might call "colonial" type police. Policing has, of course, become so much more challenging and complex, but our overriding priority remains to ensure public safety, the protection of life, the preservation of peace, and the absence of crime. Over the past two decades, we have developed our policing infrastructure, its facilities, systems, processes, and the skills of our staff, to ensure that we meet the challenge of policing a modern society – addressing not just traditional issues such as drugs, organized crime, and money laundering, but also new crimes enabled by the digital and cyber revolutions. So I can say confidently that not only do we continue to develop our policing skills with the latest equipment and techniques, but we do so whilst keeping community policing at the forefront, and based on our principles of: Responsiveness. Humaneness. Effectiveness. Transparency and Accountability. Partnership. The Bahrain - US relationship, rooted mutual action and trust, stretches back over a century. Perhaps it’s most eloquent description comes from the late Admiral William Crowe, former US Chief of Staff, who said that Bahrain is: "Pound for pound, man for man, the best ally the United States has anywhere in the world" Bahrain’s hosting of the US Fifth Fleet underscores our strategic partnership, alongside our many other success stories. Our support for the U.S. has not been simply symbolic, but it has been real, tangible and strategically critical. For example: Following the attack on the USS Stark in 1987, Bahrain was the first on the scene to rescue the US sailors; During the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, our Isa Airbase hosted over 300 US aircraft flying over 12,000 missions; and more recently, Bahrain’s special security forces were deployed to Afghanistan to help secure the US military operations HQ in Helmand province, where over 10,000 marines were stationed. So our countries have a deep, close and longstanding partnership across a wide range of fields, and today I would like to focus on just one of these – security, and in particular the challenges Bahrain has faced in maintaining our national security and the rule of law in the face of a sustained, well-funded and carefully organised campaign. From 1979, we saw a step change in attempts to subvert Bahrain’s sovereignty and security. Since the Iranian revolution, Iran sees itself as the sole guardian and spokesman for Shia across the region and holds "exporting the revolution" as an essential value. Iran has worked to undermine the countries of the region, using proxies to incite hatred, to spread sectarianism, to use chaos to further Iranian influence, and ultimately to seize power and impose a Hezbollah -style clerical regime. This strategy has played out clearly elsewhere in the region, with countries paralysed, and Hezbollah holding key centres of power. They have tried the same game plan in Bahrain. They have not succeeded, and we will not let them succeed. When His Majesty the King came to the throne, he reached out with comprehensive reforms in the National Action Charter, approved by 98.4 per cent of Bahrainis in a national referendum. There was genuine hope that so-called opposition groups could work constructively – taking part in elections and engaging productively to develop their country. But those groups slipped into a familiar pattern of rejectionism, of boycotts, of more extreme demands, and ultimately of street violence and intimidation. It also became clear that Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society was little more than the Bahrain franchise of Hezbollah. Its supporters were blatant in displaying Hezbollah flags, and in carrying images of Nasrallah or Khomenei and other Iranian clerics, while its senior leaders met and appeared openly with the Hezbollah leadership. Since 2011, Bahrain has been at the forefront of efforts to push back against Iranian influence in the Gulf, "we have": Stopped the maritime trade routes. Closed Iran’s Future Bank. Withdrawn our diplomats. Ended direct air services. Closed the Iranian school. Denied Iran permission to open medical facilities. Bahrain is absolutely serious about standing up to Iranian interference, and we hope others will be too. So it was enormously encouraging that in July 2018 the US State Department designated Al Ashtar Brigades as a terrorist group. "From Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and the Gulf, Iran is using terrorist proxies to extend its malevolent influence and upend international peace and stability. Al Ashtar is yet another in a long line of Iranian sponsored terrorists who kill on behalf of a corrupt regime". Fortunately, our law enforcement has been extremely effective in intercepting shipments of weapons, ammunition and explosives from across the Gulf, and in uncovering and dismantling weapons and bomb factories within Bahrain. Senior U.S. government officials have recognized this threat. "As the Bahraini victims of attacks carried out with some of the weapons here could tell you, the Iranian regime uses arms to export revolution, prolong crises, and inflict death and suffering". We have clear evidence that Iranian-origin explosives were used in the 2017 bombing of a major oil pipeline carrying some 250 thousand barrels of oil per day, carried out by a group trained, supplied and directed from Iran. To give a sense of the scale of the challenge, this slide shows the losses of the Public Security Forces since 2011. For me, these losses and casualties are not just numbers on a chart – they are Bahrain’s sincere men and women, and it is their courage and sacrifice that has enabled us to overcome the challenges we face. We owe it to them to stay strong and to redouble our efforts to uphold our nation’s security Today, we see terrorist groups acting with increased sophistication: moving from Molotovs to explosives to machine guns – all with Iranian backing as well as: Cyber-attacks in the region and Bahrain. Attacks in the region from UAVs. And unmanned boats. Media campaigns against Bahrain. Facing such threats, greater and deeper US-Bahrain cooperation will be essential to counter the destabilising influence of Iran and its sectarian and terrorist allies, and to preserve the security of the Gulf and beyond. Today, a concerted international effort has driven the Daesh terrorist organiسation from the territory it held. But extremist ideology still exists, whether from Daesh or from Iran, Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards – whose designation as a terrorist group by the United States is greatly welcome. The threat is both serious and pressing, affecting both the security of the Gulf and that of the United States, Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East. When such radical thought combines with readily-available but sophisticated new technology, such as smart weapons, encrypted communications and artificial intelligence then, the end result will be a whole new level of challenge and threat that will confront us all in the coming years- what I sadly must call "Smart Terrorism". Smart Terrorism gives the terrorist a new set of advantages through the use of technology: Operations can be conducted remotely, with minimal physical risk to the attacker; Multiple attacks can be conducted at once from a single location; Recruits can be attracted and coordinated effectively, without ever meeting; Significant difficulties for law enforcement to monitor or detect such activities. The threat from Smart Terrorism is therefore uniquely dangerous in combining technology and terrorism, and it requires true international efforts to confront it. Let me close on a positive note, because although we are facing real and pressing challenges, Bahrain today is a safe, developed country, welcoming people from around the world – as demonstrated by last week’s Formula 1 Grand Prix. Thanks to the professionalism and bravery of our law enforcement, and the loyalty of our citizens, we are overcoming these challenges, and maintaining a peaceful, stable, open and prosperous society. It is my hope that our friends in the United States will strongly support us as we do so. The meeting discussed security challenges facing the Gulf region that require confronting the Iranian Interference in the affairs of the regional countries and combating all forms of Iranian support to terrorist groups. The event highlighted cybersecurity and the threat of the use of technology in terrorism and the need to improve the capabilities of security authorities to deal with the development in cross-border organized crimes, in addition to the exchange of information and the reinforcement of international counter-terrorism cooperation. Meanwhile, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Counterterrorism Bureau, US Department of State highlighted that the ISIS isn’t defeated fully. They will continue to fight in Syria and Iraq. The second face will not be facing ISIS in the battle field however it will be faced by law enforcement and by border security. This is not only related to ISIS but all the different terrorist organizations all over the world, such as Al Qaeda. We want to be exchanging information with our partners with Bahrain with others in the gulf and with others around the world so we can collectively develop a global picture of the terrorist movement. Sandrea Hwang, Section Chief for the Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, also highlighted that terrorism was a complex problem. "It requires all of us to work together." The United States has a zero-tolerance policy for any terrorist activity or actions. This means for the FBI is that how we are committed to preventing any such attacks or acts of terrorism occurring specifically in the U.S. but obviously protecting our interest overseas. The meeting was attended by Bahrain Ambassador to the United States, Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa, President of Customs Affairs, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the accompanying delegation of HE Interior Minister.