Session 2 - Land Power and countering violent extremism

Session 2 of the Chief of Army Land Forces Seminar 2018 (CALFS18) entitled ‘Land power and countering violent extremism’ was presented by Major General Adam Findlay (Commander Special Operations), Lieutenant General Rolando Joselito Bautista (Commanding General Philippine Army), Ms Katja Theodorakis (Program Manager for Foreign/Security Policy and Counter Terrorism, Konrad-Adenauer Foundation Regional Programme Australia and the Pacific) and Mr Duncan Lewis (Director General of Security, Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation). Major General Findlay spoke of thinking ‘beyond the armed force to prevent the cultivation of terrorism in the minds of vulnerable people. Radicalisation, he argued, must be fought within civil society by all professions. General Batista gave a comprehensive presentation of the JSOTF liberation of Marawi, emphasising the importance of information dominance and involving the media. Ms Theodorakis shared her research on Jihadist cultural narratives and warned against the danger of representing the enemy in an ‘us/them’ binary construct. Mr Lewis echoed SOCAUST’s sentiments of fighting the extremist narrative in a domestic setting. He suggested that land forces have much to offer domestic counterterrorism effort in intelligence, logistics and geographical and topographical expertise.

This session includes the following presenters:

• Special Operations Commander, Major General Adam Findlay - SOCAUST spoke of thinking ‘beyond the armed force to prevent the cultivation of terrorism in the minds of vulnerable people. Radicalisation, he argued, must be fought within civil society by all professions (not recorded).
• Commanding General, Phillippine Army, Lieutenant General Rolando Joselito Bautista - Gen Batista gave a comprehensive presentation of the JSOTF liberation of Marawi, emphasising the importance of information dominance and involving the media (not recorded).
• Program Manager for Foreign/Security Policy and Counter Terrorism, Konrad-Adenauer Foundation Regional Programme Australia and the Pacific, Ms Katja Theodorakis - Ms Theodorakis shared her research on Jihadist cultural narratives and warned against the danger of representing the enemy in an ‘us/them’ binary construct.