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52-486: Membership of the committee is as follows: The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020. In 2022 Tom Tugendhat stepped down as the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee after assuming a ministerial role as Minister for Security. He was replaced by Alicia Kearns . The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with the members of

104-659: A bomb shelter in every building and school, but also deploying active protection systems such as the Arrow ABM , Iron Dome and David's Sling , which intercept the incoming threat in the air. Iron Dome has successfully intercepted hundreds of Qassam rockets and Grad rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. A more sophisticated target-hardening approach must consider industrial and other critical industrial infrastructure that could be attacked. Terrorists do not need to import chemical weapons if they can cause

156-489: A disproportionately large share of media attention, most terrorism occurs in less developed countries. Government responses to terrorism, in some cases, tend to lead to substantial unintended consequences, such as what occurred in the above-mentioned Munich massacre. Most counterterrorism strategies involve an increase in policing and domestic intelligence gathering. Central techniques include intercepting communications and location tracking . New technology has expanded

208-523: A major industrial accident such as the Bhopal disaster or the Halifax Explosion . Industrial chemicals in manufacturing, shipping, and storage thus require greater protection, and some efforts are in progress. Equipping likely targets with containers of pig lard has been used to discourage attacks by suicide bombers. The technique was apparently used on a limited scale by British authorities in

260-624: A national response might be required for a nuclear, biological, radiological, or significant chemical attack. Fire departments , perhaps supplemented by public works agencies, utility providers, and heavy construction contractors, are most apt to deal with the physical consequences of an attack. Again under an incident command model, local police can isolate the incident area, reducing confusion, and specialized police units can conduct tactical operations against terrorists, often using specialized counterterrorist tactical units. Bringing in such units will typically involve civil or military authority beyond

312-565: A rebellion against Johnson, stating that "I make no apology for meeting with my colleagues, but it was not a coup or any such activity despite the mischief of the media or certain actors who might wish to suggest otherwise." Kearns has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee since March 2020. She is also on the steering committee of the China Research Group. On 12 October 2022, she

364-458: A role, as a communications intercept . However, both of these approaches need to be balanced against legitimate expectations of privacy. In response to the growing legislation. Since 1978 the UK's terrorism laws have been regularly reviewed by a security-cleared Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation , whose often influential reports are submitted to Parliament and published in full. One of

416-637: A section on confronting terrorism in the recommendations in the Madrid Agenda arising from the Madrid Summit on Democracy and Terrorism (Madrid March 8–11, 2005): Democratic principles and values are essential tools in the fight against terrorism. Any successful strategy for dealing with terrorism requires terrorists to be isolated. Consequently, the preference must be to treat terrorism as criminal acts to be handled through existing systems of law enforcement and with full respect for human rights and

468-426: A son and a daughter. Counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism ), also known as anti-terrorism , relates to the practices, military tactics , techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement , businesses, and intelligence agencies use to combat or eliminate terrorism . If an act of terrorism occurs as part of a broader insurgency (and insurgency

520-465: Is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Stamford , previously Rutland and Melton , since 2019 and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs since July 2024. She identifies ideologically as a one-nation conservative . In October 2022, Kearns was elected Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee . She is the first woman to ever be elected to

572-439: Is included in the definition of terrorism ) then counterterrorism may additionally employ counterinsurgency measures. The United States Armed Forces uses the term " foreign internal defense " for programs that support other countries' attempts to suppress insurgency, lawlessness , or subversion , or to reduce the conditions under which threats to national security may develop. The first counterterrorism body to be formed

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624-423: Is the uncertainty of the future: the threat of terrorism may increase, decrease or remain the same, the type of terrorism and location are difficult to predict, and there are technological uncertainties. A potential solution is to incorporate engineering flexibility into system design, allowing for flexibility when new information arrives. Flexibility can be incorporated in the design of a counter-terrorism system in

676-461: Is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks. Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue, and responding to ongoing attacks. Countries of all sizes can have highly trained counterterrorist teams. Tactics, techniques, and procedures for manhunting are under constant development. These units are specially trained in military tactics and are equipped for close-quarters combat , with emphasis on stealth and performing

728-446: Is to place hostile vehicle mitigation to enforce protective standoff distance outside tall or politically sensitive buildings to prevent car bombings . Another way to reduce the impact of attacks is to design buildings for rapid evacuation. Aircraft cockpits are kept locked during flights and have reinforced doors, which only the pilots in the cabin are capable of opening. UK railway stations removed their garbage bins in response to

780-446: Is very large in physical terms and in other dimensions, such as type and degree of terrorist threats, political and diplomatic ramifications, and legal concerns. Ideal counterterrorist systems use technology to enable persistent intelligence , surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and potential actions. Designing such a system-of-systems comprises a major technological project. A particular design problem for counterterrorist systems

832-923: The Malayan Emergency , the Mau Mau uprising , and most of the campaigns against the IRA during the Irish Civil War , the S-Plan , the Border Campaign , and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Although military action can temporarily disrupt a terrorist group's operations temporarily, it sometimes does not end the threat completely. Repression by the military in itself usually leads to short term victories, but tend to be unsuccessful in

884-740: The Ministry of Defence (MOD), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). She was the lead press officer for the MOD's contribution to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign. She led the government's communication campaigns in Syria and Iraq for the FCO. At the FCO she was responsible for advising governments on strategies to defeat Daesh (ISIS), insurgent groups, and to counter Russian disinformation in Syria. She attended

936-797: The Provisional IRA threat, as convenient locations for depositing bombs. Scottish stations removed theirs after the 7 July 2005 London Bombings as a precautionary measure. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority purchased bomb-resistant barriers after the September 11 attacks. Due to frequent shelling of Israel's cities, towns, and settlements by artillery rockets from the Gaza Strip (mainly by Hamas , but also by other Palestinian factions) and Lebanon (mainly by Hezbollah ), Israel has developed several defensive measures against artillery, rockets, and missiles. These include building

988-472: The 1940s. The approach stems from the idea that Muslims perpetrating the attack would not want to be "soiled" by the lard in the moment before dying. The idea has been suggested more recently as a deterrent to suicide bombings in Israel. However, the actual effectiveness of this tactic is likely limited. A sympathetic Islamic scholar could issue a fatwa proclaiming that a suicide bomber would not be polluted by

1040-762: The 20th and 21st centuries are listed below. See list of hostage crises for a more extended list, including hostage-takings that did not end violently. Sea , south of the French coast ; subsequently Mogadishu International Airport , Somalia March 30, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore attack – 8 gunmen, 8 police personnel and 2 civilians killed, 95 people injured, 4 gunmen captured. Plaza Cinema Chowk attack – 16 police officers, an army officer and unknown number of civilians killed. As many as 251 people injured. The scope for counterterrorism systems

1092-813: The UN-led peace talks on Syria and was deployed in Iraq, Kuwait and Ukraine. At the MoJ, she worked as the Victims' Minister's press secretary. Kearns became the client services director for the strategic communications consultancy Global Influence in 2016. She later became an independent consultant. Her private sector duties involved designing and directing "counter violent extremism, counter disinformation, hybrid warfare and behaviour change programmes for Governments, militaries, and NGOs to build stronger and safer communities". Immediately prior to her election to parliament, Kearns

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1144-721: The United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia have taken this approach, while Western European states generally do not. Another major method of preemptive neutralization is the interrogation of known or suspected terrorists to obtain information about specific plots, targets, the identity of other terrorists, whether or not the interrogation subjects himself is guilty of terrorist involvement. Sometimes more extreme methods are used to increase suggestibility , such as sleep deprivation or drugs. Such methods may lead captives to offer false information in an attempt to stop

1196-469: The committee being announced on 11 September 2017. The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 8 July 2015. The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010. The Foreign Affairs Committee carries out many inquiries, and publishes a variety of reports, including an annual Human Rights Report. During its inquiry into the government's decision to invade Iraq , David Kelly famously gave evidence to

1248-524: The committee on 15 July 2003, two days before his death. In 2015 through 2016 the committee conducted an extensive and highly critical inquiry into the British involvement in the Libyan Civil War . It concluded that the early threat to civilians had been overstated and that the significant Islamist element in the rebel forces had not been recognised, due to an intelligence failure. By summer 2011

1300-485: The effective inclusion of human rights protection as a crucial element in that cooperation. They argue that international human rights obligations do not stop at borders, and a failure to respect human rights in one state may undermine its effectiveness in the global effort to cooperate to combat terrorism. Some countries see preemptive attacks as a legitimate strategy. This includes capturing, killing, or disabling suspected terrorists before they can mount an attack. Israel,

1352-550: The enduring underlying inequalities which fuel terrorist activity. Causal factors need to be delineated and measures implemented which allow equal access to resources and sustainability for all people. Such activities empower citizens, providing "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want". This can take many forms, including the provision of clean drinking water, education, vaccination programs, provision of food and shelter and protection from violence, military or otherwise. Successful human security campaigns have been characterized by

1404-575: The form of options that can be exercised in the future when new information is available. While some countries with longstanding terrorism problems have law enforcement agencies primarily designed to prevent and respond to terror attacks, in other nations, counterterrorism is a relatively more recent objective of law enforcement agencies. Though some civil libertarians and criminal justice scholars have criticized efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism as futile and expensive or as threats to civil liberties, other scholars have analyzed

1456-406: The group, a very difficult challenge for human intelligence operations because operational terrorist cells are often small, with all members known to one another, perhaps even related. Counterintelligence is a great challenge with the security of cell-based systems, since the ideal, but the nearly impossible, goal is to obtain a clandestine source within the cell. Financial tracking can play

1508-605: The initial limited intervention to protect Libyan civilians had become a policy of regime change . However that new policy did not include proper support and for a new government, leading to a political and economic collapse in Libya and the growth of ISIL in North Africa. The report concluded that the former Prime Minister David Cameron was ultimately responsible for this British policy failure. Alicia Kearns Alicia Alexandra Martha Kearns (born 11 November 1987)

1560-635: The local level. Emergency medical services are capable of triaging, treating, and transporting the more severely affected individuals to hospitals, which typically have mass casualty and triage plans in place for terrorist attacks. Public health agencies , from local to the national level, may be designated to deal with identification, and sometimes mitigation, of possible biological attacks, and sometimes chemical or radiological contamination. Many countries have dedicated counterterrorist units trained to handle terrorist threats. Besides various security agencies , there are police tactical units whose role

1612-477: The long run (e.g., the French doctrine used in colonial Indochina and Algeria ), particularly if it is not accompanied by other measures. However, new methods such as those taken in Iraq have yet to be seen as beneficial or ineffectual. Whatever the target of terrorists, there are multiple ways of hardening the targets to prevent the terrorists from hitting their mark, or reducing the damage of attacks. One method

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1664-453: The mission with minimal casualties. The units include assault teams, snipers , EOD experts, dog handlers, and intelligence officers. Most of these measures deal with terrorist attacks that affect an area or threaten to do so, or are lengthy situations such as shootouts and hostage takings that allow the counterterrorist units to assemble and respond; it is harder to deal with shorter incidents such as assassinations or reprisal attacks, due to

1716-585: The most important dimensions of the policing of terrorism as an important dimension of counter-terrorism, especially in the post-9/11 era, and have discussed how police view terrorism as a matter of crime control. Such analyses highlight the civilian police role in counterterrorism next to the military model of a war on terror . Pursuant to passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 , federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies began to systemically reorganize. Two primary federal agencies,

1768-411: The participation of a diverse group of actors, including governments, NGOs , and citizens. Foreign internal defense programs provide outside expert assistance to a threatened government. FID can involve both non-military and military aspects of counterterrorism. A 2017 study found that "governance and civil society aid is effective in dampening domestic terrorism, but this effect is only present if

1820-552: The primary difficulties of implementing effective counterterrorist measures is the waning of civil liberties and individual privacy that such measures often entail, both for citizens of, and for those detained by states attempting to combat terror. At times, measures designed to tighten security have been seen as abuses of power or even violations of human rights. Examples of these problems can include prolonged, incommunicado detention without judicial review or long periods of 'preventive detention'; risk of subjecting to torture during

1872-426: The radar. To select the effective action when terrorism appears to be more of an isolated event, the appropriate government organizations need to understand the source, motivation, methods of preparation, and tactics of terrorist groups. Good intelligence is at the heart of such preparation, as well as a political and social understanding of any grievances that might be solved. Ideally, one gets information from inside

1924-543: The range of military and law enforcement options for intelligence gathering. Many countries increasingly employ facial recognition systems in policing. Domestic intelligence gathering is sometimes directed to specific ethnic or religious groups, which are the sources of political conversy. Mass surveillance of an entire population raises objections on civil liberties grounds. Domestic terrorists , especially lone wolves , are often harder to detect because of their citizenship or legal status and ability to stay under

1976-413: The recipient country is not experiencing a civil conflict." Terrorism has often been used to justify military intervention in countries where terrorists are said to be based. Similar justifications were used for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the second Russian invasion of Chechnya . Military intervention has not always been successful in stopping or preventing future terrorism, such as during

2028-686: The role, and the youngest ever female Chair of a Select Committee. Alicia Kearns was born on 11 November 1987 and grew up in Cambridgeshire , where she attended a comprehensive school, Impington Village College . During her teenage years, she was a member of the UK Youth Parliament and an activist for Amnesty International . She studied social and political sciences at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge , graduating in 2009. During university, she participated in student theatre productions. Kearns has worked in communication roles at

2080-550: The rule of law. We recommend: (1) taking effective measures to make impunity impossible either for acts of terrorism or for the abuse of human rights in counter-terrorism measures. (2) the incorporation of human rights laws in all anti-terrorism programs and policies of national governments as well as international bodies." While international efforts to combat terrorism have focused on the need to enhance cooperation between states, proponents of human rights (as well as human security ) have suggested that more effort needs to be given to

2132-475: The safe Conservative seat of Chelmsford but lost the selection to then-MEP Vicky Ford . Kearns was selected as the Conservative candidate for Rutland and Melton on 8 November 2019. It is a notionally safe Conservative seat, having been represented by a member of the party since the constituency's creation in 1983. She was elected at the 2019 general election with a majority of 26,924 and 62.6% of

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2184-518: The short warning time and the quick exfiltration of the assassins. The majority of counterterrorism operations at the tactical level are conducted by state, federal, and national law enforcement or intelligence agencies . In some countries, the military may be called in as a last resort. For countries whose military is legally permitted to conduct domestic law enforcement operations, this is not an issue, and such counterterrorism operations are conducted by their military. Some counterterrorist actions of

2236-426: The smuggling claims. The British Ambassador to Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, said the British government had no evidence to support Kearns' allegation. Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , Kearns' constituency of Rutland and Melton was abolished, and replaced with Rutland and Stamford . At the 2024 general election , Kearns was elected to Parliament as MP for Rutland and Stamford with 43.7% of

2288-475: The swine products. For a threatened or completed terrorist attack, an Incident Command System (ICS) may be invoked to control the various services that may need to be involved in the response. ICS has varied levels of escalation, such as might be required for multiple incidents in a given area (e.g. 2005 London bombings or the 2004 Madrid train bombings ), or all the way to a National Response Plan invocation if national-level resources are needed. For example,

2340-625: The transfer, return and extradition of people between or within countries; and the adoption of security measures that restrain the rights or freedoms of citizens and breach principles of non-discrimination. Examples include: Many argue that such violations of rights could exacerbate rather than counter the terrorist threat. Human rights activists argue for the crucial role of human rights protection as an intrinsic part to fight against terrorism. This suggests, as proponents of human security have long argued, that respecting human rights may indeed help us to incur security. Amnesty International included

2392-603: The treatment, or due to the confusion caused by it. In 1978 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the Ireland v. United Kingdom case that such methods amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment , and that such practices were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 (art. 3). The human security paradigm outlines a non-military approach that aims to address

2444-507: The vote and a majority of 10,394. Kearns has been a staunch opponent of the 4.2 mile (6.76km) Mallard Pass Solar Farm, which straddles Lincolnshire and Rutland, and aims to provide renewable energy to 92,000 homes. In July 2024, Kearns was one of five politicians to cover for James O'Brien 's radio show on LBC , as part of the station's "Guest Week". Kearns lives in the village of Langham in Rutland with her husband. The couple have

2496-759: The vote. Kearns is a supporter of transgender rights and in August 2020 co-authored an article in ConservativeHome with fellow MP Nicola Richards which called on the government to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004 . Some newspapers and broadcasters alleged that Kearns was part of an attempt by Conservative MPs elected in the 2019 general election to oust then Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Partygate in January 2022. She said that she met with concerned MPs, but denied leading

2548-637: Was GSG 9 of the German Federal Police , formed in response to the 1972 Munich massacre . Counterterrorist forces expanded with the perceived growing threat of terrorism in the late 20th century. After the September 11 attacks , Western governments made counterterrorism efforts a priority. This included more extensive collaboration with foreign governments, shifting tactics involving red teams , and preventive measures. Although terrorist attacks affecting Western countries generally receive

2600-590: Was directing counter-terrorism , counter disinformation and hybrid warfare interventions in Lebanon , Morocco and the Western Balkans . Kearns stood for election at the 2017 general election in the safe Labour seat of Mitcham and Morden . She came second behind the incumbent Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh with 24.2% of the vote. Kearns was also in the final shortlist in the same election for

2652-635: Was elected as the first female Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, replacing Tom Tugendhat . As a chair of a select committee she is also a member of the Liaison Committee . In July 2023, Kearns claimed in parliament that weapons were being smuggled from Serbia to Kosovo in ambulances and then being stored in Serbian Orthodox Churches . NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR , said it has no evidence for

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2704-767: Was the Special Irish Branch of the Metropolitan Police , later renamed the Special Branch after it expanded its scope beyond its original focus on Fenian terrorism. Various law enforcement agencies established similar units in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists has been identified as the first international conference against terrorism. The first tactical counterterrorist unit

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