UPDATE ON DUTCH COUNTERTERRORISM PLANNING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001847 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2014 TAGS: PTER PGOV PINR NL SUBJECT: UPDATE ON DUTCH COUNTERTERRORISM PLANNING REF: A. (A) THE HAGUE 1201 ¶B. (B) THE HAGUE 1167 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel R. Russel for reasons 1.5(b) an d (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a July 21 meeting with DCM, Joustra briefed on his plans for a new agency that would integrate C/T policy, threat analysis, and operations under a senior coordinator reporting to the Justice (and Interior) Ministers. Joustra said the two Ministers had approved the outlines of the plan and that, subject to expected Council of Ministers, endorsement in late August, his goal was to stand up the new system by January, 2005. The centerpiece of the new agency would be an inter-agency terrorism threat analysis unit modeled on the British JTAC. The position of national coordinator for crisis management and security (created in late 2003) would be folded into the operations unit under the C/T coordinator and new legislation would be introduced to enable the central government to direct action by the local authorities, who currently have nearly complete autonomy over security measures. We judge Joustra,s plans to be admirably on target. He is a savvy operator with a good grasp of The Hague,s bureaucracy and politics, but his proposal is remarkably ambitious and must clear a number of formidable obstacles to be realized in full in the next six months. End summary. ¶2. (C) Dutch C/T coordinator Tjibbe Joustra reported to DCM July 21 that he had obtained approval from the Justice and Interior Ministries for his restructuring proposal at a meeting the week of July 12, that the Cabinet,s &National Security Council8 subgroup chaired by the Justice Minister would endorse it on August 20, and that the Council of Ministers would formally approve it the following week (o/a August 27) along with a letter of notification to Parliament to be delivered in September. Joustra said he will begin implementing his restructuring plans after the Council of Ministers meeting, without waiting for the parliamentary debate, and is aiming for a January 1 start to the new system ) a target he admitted would be difficult to meet. ¶3. (C) Joustra said he had overcome considerable opposition to his far-reaching proposal in the Dutch bureaucracy. He initiated a quiet survey of senior Dutch law enforcement and intelligence officials that revealed near-unanimity of view that the Dutch C/T system was ineffective -- most rated their own agency performance as &bad.8 The Joustra plan calls for the establishment of a new (yet unnamed) Counter Terrorism Authority or Agency headed by a national C/T coordinator ) for the time being, himself ) reporting directly to the Justice and the Interior Ministers and comprised of three units: - A Policy Unit will be staffed by officers assigned by the Justice and Interior Ministries, responsible for coordination within the GoNL, drafting new legislation, setting guidelines for national and local agencies, and some bilateral coordination. - An Integrated Threat Analysis Unit: Modeled on the UK JTAC (Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre),this unit will bring together AIVD and MIVD (civilian and military intelligence), KLPD (national police),Customs, and other law enforcement players (probably to include prosecutors). The unit,s mission is sharing and analyzing terrorist threat information and categorizing threat levels. Joustra said he was putting particular emphasis on selecting a top-notch team leader (who he wished to send to the US and UK early for training and consultations). The Netherlands unfortunately does not have many (any) analysts and the unit will take a long time to develop. - A &Projects8 Unit will direct national and local authorities to take countermeasures in response to threats or threat levels. The current national coordinator for crisis management and safety ) a position created only last year ) would be incorporated into this unit. New legislation must be put in place to give the National Coordinator and the Projects Unit authority to order local police and mayors to take action, since the current system gives virtual autonomy to the localities. - Two other elements of the new Authority will be communications, (i.e. disseminating information about threats or countermeasures) and international liaison. Joustra agreed that it would be important for selected nations to be able to interface with the authority, albeit not as a substitute for liaison with security services or other agencies. Other Issues -------------- ¶4. (C) Joustra also briefed on a task force called &The Info Box8 cell created recently at AIVD, which includes representatives of the KLPD and IND (immigration). He described it as a long-overdue step to facilitate communication on suspected extremists in the Netherlands. The focus is on the watch list of approximately 150 individuals of concern, largely North Africans and asylum seekers. This is something that should have happened long ago, he said, but not part of his new architecture. ¶5. (SBU) In response to DCM,s question, he said that fellow Dutchman Gijs de Vries, the EU C/T coordinator, has met with him several times, but Joustra said he felt that de Vries had a far harder job in effecting reforms on an EU scale. Since Dutch coordination with the EU on C/T policy will remain with the Ministry of Justice, Joustra did not expect to have much ongoing coordination with de Vries. ¶6. (SBU) DCM expressed thanks for Joustra,s efforts and openness, and offered full USG assistance in standing up a viable C/T system. He underscored the importance of timely information sharing with U.S. and urged Joustra to help in overcoming the widespread Dutch view that a &U.S. nexus8 needed to be established before information was passed to us. Joustra and all Dutch services should look to us as a resource, tap into our expertise, and err on the side of full disclosure. Joustra said he agreed. DCM shared the &Patterns of Global Terrorism8 and other releasable material, and also briefed Joustra on Embassy concerns regarding cross-border mobility and terrorist facilitators (such as forgers and traffickers). RUSSEL