Session 2: Special Forces, Counterterrorism and Partnership

Major General Adam Findlay, AM

Special Operations Commander - Australia

Introduction

‘General Burr, Chiefs of Army and Service representatives from around the world, members of the diplomatic community, Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s a privilege to stand before you this morning and continue the valuable conversation that we began yesterday.

‘Terrorism and violent extremism are threats at the forefront of my responsibilities as Special Operations Commander, Australia, so I am glad to be involved in this morning’s discussion. It’s an honour to share the stage with three eminent practitioners and thought-leaders who also share deep concerns about the enduring global extremist threat.

‘To General Bautista, Commanding-General of the Philippine Army—it is a special honour to have you here with us. Many of us here closely watched the successful combat operations which you led superbly against terrorist groups last year in Marawi. We look forward to hearing some of your insights as the commander of that operation.

‘Plus, it’s great to share the stage with a Scout Ranger!

‘To Katja Theodorakis, thank you for agreeing to engage with us today. I hope you can challenge and inspire new thinking in us ‘old soldiers’! Militaries can only benefit from closer and deeper understanding of academic and policy community views.

‘And to Duncan Lewis, Director-General of Security of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. ASIO is Australia’s lead intelligence agency responsible for countering terrorism, violent extremism, espionage and foreign interference. In another life, Major General Lewis was the first two-star Special Operations Commander, Australia, and an SASR officer. Duncan, thanks for being here and we all look forward to your strategic perspectives.

‘First, I will be drawing from Australia’s operational experiences since 2001. I will offer that relationships are the most important capability for military forces in counterterrorism operations. This observation, won through battlefield experience, absolutely underscores General Burr’s strong advocacy yesterday about the power of partnerships within the Indo-Pacific.

‘Second, I will share some personal thoughts on the limits of military force and how a fully integrated team is much more effective in preventing and fighting against terrorism.

‘Lastly, extending the topic slightly, I will offer some brief, personal views on emerging hybrid and grey-zone trends. Value of Networks, Partnerships & Cooperation

‘Australia has made, and continues to make, military contributions to global efforts to fight terrorism since late 2001. Fighting alongside many of you, Australia has made many shared sacrifices defending our nations against the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism. As you woke up this morning, the Australian Army, including Special Forces, is supporting the Iraqi counterterrorism service fight against Daesh in Iraq. Our soldiers are also helping train Afghan police and army commandos to build security in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission. In this part of the world, the Australian Army is supporting and learning many lessons from the Philippines and General Bautista’s army.

‘However, despite all of our best efforts and many successes, it is regrettable that terrorism remains a common and enduring threat to many of our nations.

‘From this region, like other parts of the world, Australian and many South East Asian nationals, have gone to fight with Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The Syrian and Iraqi battlefields have given foreign terrorist fighters significant combat experience, sophisticated skills to build advanced explosives, and further entrenched their belief in a misguided ideology. Some of these hardened foreign fighters have survived and will return home. Events in Marawi, the disrupted airliner plot in Sydney last year, and the recent Surabaya attacks in Indonesia all clearly suggest this. The returning foreign fighter threat is not exclusive to this region; Europe, South Asia and North America all face similar risks. It is a global phenomenon.

‘I’m sure Duncan can talk more authoritatively about the current threats we face.

‘So in the face of a resurgent terrorist threat globally why are relationships more important than combat power?

‘Because no one agency, department or force ‘owns’ the counterterrorism response. No one agency, department or force has all the answers. The interconnected realities of our world—like social media and ease of air travel—have allowed global threats to become local, and local threats to become global. Terror plots, even home-grown ones, will likely have touch points in several countries crossing legal, policy, cultural and linguistic boundaries.

‘And therein lies the challenge and complexity for all of us as anticipators and responders. We must be highly adaptive—seamlessly connecting across national borders, and across police, intelligence and military capabilities. To have the best chance at disrupting and preventing attacks, a coordinated team approach is needed; sharing understanding and earning trust through cooperation.

‘We in the military have learnt to embrace police and intelligence agencies as the leading authorities for counterterrorism. While counterterrorism is a key part of the Special Operations Command’s (SOCOMD) mission, our role is mainly through the provision of counterterrorism support to police and intelligence agencies. Should a serious terrorist plot emerge in Australia, the military provides capabilities to assist and augment the police based on our expertise in responding against complex threats. Overseas, in cooperation with our allies and friends, the ADF helps our intelligence agencies gain access to conflict zones where Australians are involved in terrorist activity. Through this approach, we focus on combining our respective strengths. We complement each other, we do not compete against each other.

‘But strong relationships are needed internationally as well. No matter how good our current linkages are, we must all constantly evolve and do better to prevail against the ever-changing threat. The signs for international collaboration are positive.

‘The new Sub-Regional Defence Ministers Meeting on Counter Terrorism, involving South East Asian nations, attests to this. To Lieutenant General Sulairman: its great news that Indonesia has agreed to host the second meeting in 2019.

‘At the military level, the annual South East Asia Special Operations Forces (SOF) Commanders conference was held for the third time, and kindly hosted by the Philippines this year. This forum is growing in value and is acting to establish practical ways to enhance multilateral regional SOF cooperation, complementing the many well-established bilateral SOF links in the region.

‘The ninth ADMM+ (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus) Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism was recently held in Thailand. Thailand and China deserve praise for their service as the current co-chairs.

‘These fora help to encourage transparency and collaborative dialogue on military counterterrorism matters.

‘Australia and ASEAN signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding on counterterrorism matters earlier this year. And the United States, particularly through US Special Operations Command, has long been a leader in developing and encouraging new ways for multilateral intelligence sharing for counterterrorism across military, police and intelligence agencies in the region and across the globe.

‘These are just a few examples of some of the important collaborative initiatives underway within this region. These growing relationships are the currency of success. Conflict is No Cure, Prevention is Better than Response

‘Now, let us look more broadly beyond the use of armed forces.

‘We are an esteemed audience of senior army commanders gathered here this week.

‘At times, we have led our soldiers in war and combat; at others, we have spent years training for battles that fortunately have not ensued. Many of us, sadly, have lost soldiers both in combat and in training for war. For as capable and powerful as our armies are, we have learnt there are limits to the use of lethal force—no matter how discriminating we seek to be in its application. As armies, we must always be ready to fight and protect our people; to deny safe haven and to prevent ungoverned space emerging where terrorist groups can virulently grow.

‘But armies, including Special Forces, cannot by themselves counter terrorism and violent extremism.

‘While sometimes absolutely necessary and just—like in Marawi, like in Mosul—kinetic actions are in and of themselves merely a military tactic, not a strategy. We can’t kill our way to victory when the enemy manifests itself most powerfully in the minds of vulnerable people who don’t have fair social and economic opportunities. As we have often experienced, an over-reliance on kinetic action can often result in the opposite outcomes intended: inspiring retaliatory attacks and fuelling recruitment.

‘We in the military have a complementary role to play, but not in ways popularly imagined. Where there has been conflict, Army can assist in quickly restoring order and creating safe conditions for civil society to re- build and giving prominence to civil authority. Where there is order well- established, Army can assist by working hard to foster strong relationships with local communities and interest groups.

‘Radicalisation is a problem we must fight together as a community, within our civil societies, before extremist ideology turns to violence. The frontline in the fight against extremist ideology can’t be manned by a Special Forces operator or Army soldier at a checkpoint. School teachers, doctors, nurses, aid and development workers, sports coaches, small business owners, police officers—these are the frontline people who can make a real difference in preventing radicalisation in the long-run.

‘General Burr described yesterday how one of the best things we can do as land forces is [to be] working together to prevent conflict. This is especially true when it comes to countering violent extremism.

Future challenges

‘Finally, I want to turn briefly to some new challenges that we see emerging in our world.

‘We all know the world today is changing in ways faster than we fully understand. Besides terrorism, other trends—like grey-zone, hybrid warfare and power competition—are evident. Grey-zone, hybrid warfare and competition trends have prompted a revolution in our thinking.

‘Technology alone will not be the answer. Countering hybrid approaches requires imagination, innovation and disruptive thinking. A new SOF operational art to orchestrate special effects is needed. We will need flatter command structures. We will need to be inherently joint, multi-national and inter-agency in nature, together as one mission team. We will need a more diverse SOF team. SOF will need women to serve in greater numbers.

‘We will still need the SAS and Commando assaulters… but we will also increasingly need the intelligence analyst, the scientist, the computer programmer and so many more specialists.

‘Above all, as I said earlier, being fully effective as a special force will be about maximising the leverage of relationships. SOF cooperation amongst friends needs to become even closer and increasingly integrated. Trust is a capability. And trust can’t be generated in the instant when the unexpected occurs. As Admiral McRaven so rightly said in 2012, ‘you can’t surge trust’.

‘With uncertainty increasing around the world, the unexpected may not be far away.

‘I deeply value the relationships Australian SOCOMD shares with many of your Special Forces and wider military services… and undertake to do all we can to ensure our relationships remain focussed on the most complex challenges relevant to SOF mission-sets and capabilities into the future.

Conclusion

‘In conclusion, thank you for your generosity in allowing me to share these thoughts with you this morning.

‘I look forward to a very open and engaging discussion with you shortly.

‘In the meantime, I invite you to please warmly welcome Lieutenant General Rolando Bautista—Commanding-General Philippine Army.’

Figure 17. An Australian Special Air Service trooper uses a caving ladder to board a bulk carrier during a maritime counterterrorist exercise off the Western Australia coast. (Image: DoD)

Figure 18. A still from the book Targets by Herlinde Koelbl which Ms Theodorakis uses to highlight her arguments about how a perception of the ‘enemy’ will be subjective. (Image: Targets - Herlinde Koelble - Published by Prestel)