U.S.-Israel-India Partnership Urged to Confront Terrorism; No Cause Can Justify Terrorist Acts, Conference Declares

2/28/2003

From: Jim Colbert, 202-667-3900, for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- The United States, Israel and India should create a trilateral governmental partnership to "promote cooperation and concerted action against terrorism...in its multiple forms," according to a joint statement released by the participants at the close of the India-U.S.-Israel Trilateral Security Conference in New Delhi.

Security and counter-terrorism experts from the United States, Israel and India met to discuss the importance of a common approach to international terrorism. In a joint statement released by the participants, which included former CIA, FBI, Mossad, U.S. State Department and Indian Foreign Ministry officials, the conferees strongly agreed that "there can be no justification for any form of terrorism (and) no cause can justify it," and warned that "the ultimate threat to humanity is the combination of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction."

The participants also concluded it would be in the best interests of India, the U.S. and Israel to "pool their resources and experiences" in dealing with the menace of international terrorism, and urged "other like-minded democracies to join in."

The conference concluded with a promise to "continue to work together as a private organization informing the public and influencing governments" toward the goal of working together to uncover and eliminate terrorist groups and the criminal activities associated with them.

The conference, held February 6 and 7 at the India International Centre in New Delhi, was organized by India's Manipal Academy of Higher Education and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a think tank based in Washington, DC.

Following the two-day conference, the U.S. delegation held meetings with high-level Indian government officials, including President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, and Human Resources Development Minister M.M. Joshi.

The U.S. delegation to the conference included former CIA anti-terrorism official Duane "Dewey" Clarridge; former Deputy FBI Director and counter-terrorism specialist Steven Pomerantz; and former deputy UN Ambassador Harvey Feldman. Israel was represented by former National Security Advisor and IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan; former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit; and Prof. Martin Sherman of Tel Aviv University. The Indian panelists included noted anti-terrorism expert K.P.S. Gill; B. Raman, director of the Institute for Topical Studies and former head of the counter-terrorism division of the Research & Analysis Wing (India's external intelligence agency) and Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, a recent High Commissioner to Pakistan, currently with the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.

The statement, which was signed by all participants and released at the end of the conference, read:

"India, Israel and the United States are united by a shared commitment to democratic values, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet all three are confronted by terrorism in its multiple forms. At the same time, all agreed that there can be no justification for any form of terrorism. No cause can justify terrorism.

"India, Israel, America and other countries have been the victims of terrorism for many years. But it took the events of September 11, 2001 to convince that concerted action to confront this global menace is necessary. So while we applaud the successes in Afghanistan, liberating that country from the Taliban's repressive regime, we know the menace of terrorism persists across the world.

"The ultimate threat to humanity is the combination of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. The linkage between terrorists and the states that support them on the one hand, and on the other drug smuggling, counterfeiting, contributions to fraudulent charities, money laundering and organized criminal activity is well-established.

"The conferees agreed:

1. The United States, India and Israel, as sister democracies and common victims of international terrorism, should pool their resources and experiences in dealing with this menace. We urge the creation of a trilateral governmental mechanism to promote cooperation and concerted action against terrorism, and we call on other like-minded nations to join in. At the same time, we conferees will continue to work together as a private organization informing the public, and influencing governments toward this goal.

2. All three countries have been victims of terrorism. All three must have a common determination to oppose terrorism wherever it rears its head. And all three must take appropriate action against those who fund, incite, train, or give safe haven to terrorists. Since terrorism is an international menace, so our response must be international in character."

The conference proceedings will be published in the next few weeks by The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and will be available for download on their web site (http://www.jinsa.org). JINSA is a non-profit organization that promotes a capable U.S. military defense, strengthened national security and strategic alliances with Israel and other key allies. It is the publisher of the Journal of International Security Affairs (ISSN 1532-4060).