Managing the Consequences of Terrorist Acts - Efficiency and Coordination Challenges

Uredniški uvodnik - doc. dr. Denis Čaleta

Mednarodni terorizem v svoji osnovi predstavlja zlo, kjer določene družbene skupine in posamezniki svoja stališča izražajo na povsem neciviliziran način. Trpljenje drugače mislečih nikakor in nikoli ne rešuje problemov in vzrokov zaradi katerih se posamezniki tudi odločijo za izvedbo terorističnih dejanj. V največjih primerih pa so žrtve terorističnih dejanj ravno nedolžni ljudje. Naloga vsake demokratične države je, da s svojim nacionalno-varnostnim sistemom na svojem ozemlju izvede vse potrebne ukrepe za varno in normalno delovanje družbene skupnosti. Vsi se zavedamo, da to nikakor ni lahka naloga. Živimo namreč v kompleksnem okolju, kjer je dinamika sprememb in s tem povezanih varnostnih tveganj vse večja. Odprtost demokratične družbe skozi vzvode prostega pretoka blaga, storitev, ljudi in kapitala, nalogo celovitega obvladovanja tveganj postavlja še v zahtevnejši položaj. Ko pa te dejavnike postavimo še v kontekst razvoja moderne tehnologije, vidimo, da je zagotavljanje varnosti pred terorističnimi grožnjami izredno težko.

Navkljub trudu, ki ga subjekti nacionalne varnosti izvajajo v nacionalnem in tudi mednarodnem okviru, terorističnih groženj v celoti ni mogoče preprečiti. To dejstvo pa pomeni, da je potrebno delovanje tega sistema, začenši od najširšega odzivanja družbene skupnosti na pojav terorističnega napada, pripraviti do te mere, da bo hitro in učinkovito deloval tudi ob taki vrsti kriznih situacij. Ravno usklajenost delovanja organov in služb zadolženih za prvo odzivanje v primeru terorističnega dejanja je tista osnovna zahteva, ki lahko bistveno pripomore k učinkovitejšemu odzivanju in zmanjševanju škodljivih posledic.

MISLI KNJIGI NA POT

Prof. Ernest Petrič, PhD
President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia

Terrorism is an extremely important challenge of our time. Not just because it is a great threat to the people, but also because there is a dilemma how to stand up to this threat without compromising the respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. Reflections on this are therefore not only welcome but necessary.

Mr. Joseph A. Mussomeli
U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia

All of us, sadly, are already victims of terrorism whether it has hit us directly or not. Its very existence changes the way we think and live. Recognizing the wide-ranging impact terrorism can have, we must strive to stop it before it starts by challenging the distorted eithical underpinnings of extremism and the underlying problems that create a fertile breeding ground for terrorist ideologies. While we must remain vigilant and defend our societies against attack, we must also be realistic and recognize that, despite our best efforts to prevent attacks, they may happen and we must be prepared to deal with the consequences. By understanding the potential consequences and preparing to effectively deal with the physical, psychological, social, and economic impact of terrorism, we can deny extremists their ultimate goal of destroying civilization. Managing the consequences of terrorism and realistically assessing our vulnerabilities must be an integral part of our overall counterterrorism strategy.

Mr. Gilles de Kerchove

Even the best cooperation in the field of prevention can not ensure 100 % security; the law enforcement and security agencies will not always be able to stop terrorists before hitting. With an evolving threat and an increased risk by lone actors or home grown radicals, terrorist activities become even more difficult to detect. Therefore consequence management related to terrorist events is essential to improve our response to a terrorist attack and to reduce its impact.

The EU has enhanced its activities in this field - for example in the field of CBRN and explosives or in the field of infrastructure protection (to make them more resilient and by that reduce consequences of a successful attack). For instance the EU has established Actions Plans in the field of CBRN and explosives. We have enhanced our disaster response capability for example through civil protection modules and technical assistance teams that can be deployed rapidly. Especially the field of CBRN and Explosives offers a variety of possibilities for a closer cooperation between the civilian and the military side in fields of detection and reaction.

The important role of immediate response and solidarity in case of an attack is also reflected in the Solidarity Clause, Art. 222 TFEU, introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. This article foresees that the EU and the Member States will act jointly in a spirit of solidarity if a Member State is the object of a terrorist attack. The concrete arrangements shall be defined by the Council of the EU acting on a joint proposal by the Commission and the High Representative in the coming months.

Kazalo:

VSEBINA

TITLE OF THE ARTICLE

AUTHORS

Editorial

Denis Čaleta

Editorial

Paul Shemella

Section I: Coordination dilemmas and challenges regarding consequence management

Coordination and its impact on process efficiency of consequence management after terrorist attack

Denis Čaleta

Cultural Considerations in Consequence Management and Emergency Response

Wayne P. Bergeron

The London Bombings: A Case Study in Effective Consequence Management

Thomas Mockaitis

Crisis situation as a consequence of terrorism attack- challenge for investigators

Dragan Trivan, Želimir Kešetović, Dušan Davidović

Section II: Consequence management related to critical infrastructure protection

Analysis of a Hypothetical Terrorist Action against a Research Nuclear Reactor

Luka Snoj, Borut Smodiš

LNG Terminals: a Safety Perspective

Peter Vidmar, Stojan Petelin, Marko Perkovič, Blaž Luin, Mitja Kožuh

Fighting against terrorism – Pandemics Movement restrictions management and control

Iztok Podbregar, Teodora Ivanuša

Comprehensive approach to tactical response in the case of terrorist acts involving WMD

Dragana Nikolić, Ana Kovačević, Srba Stanković

Section III: National approaches to consequence management

Absolute Freedom and Security in post-9/11 Canada

Pierre Jolicoeur, Frederic Labarre

Managing consequences of terrorist attacks in the South East Europe: the Case of Macedonia

Metodi Hadji-Janev

The Current Terrorist threats against China and the Countermeasures Taken by Chinese Government

Luo Yan

Eliminating the consequences of the terrorist attack in the republic of Serbia

Jasmina Gačić, Svetlana Stanarević, Vladimir, Jakovljević

Managing Consequences of Terrorism –State Mechanism in Kosovo

Kadri Arifi, Fatos Makolli

Croatian counter-terrorism strategy: challenges, prevention and response system

Anita Perešin

The Mitigation of Agro terrorism Threat in the Republic of Serbia

Vesela Radovic

Section IV: Social dilemmas connected to consequence management

The Economics of the War against Terrorism

Jaka Vadnjal

Auditing of intelligence and security operations in the fight against terrorism

Mojca Ferjančič Podbregar, Iztok Podbregar

The media and terrorism: the case of Greece

Georgios Protopapas

Psychosocial support after disasters and terrorist attack

Andreja Lavrič in Olga Andrejek