Bureau of Counterterrorism to Add Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) to Its Mandate

February 2, 2016 By domani spero in Foreign Assistance, FSOs, Functional Bureaus, John F. Kerry, Leadership and Management, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: Countering Violent Extremism, Global Engagement Center, Judith McHale, Michael Lumpkin, Richard LeBaron, Sarah Sewall, State/CT, State/CT-CVE, Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, Tina S. Kaidanow, Under Secretary for Civilian Security Democracy and Human Rights, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Posted: 2:10 pm EDT
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According to FP’s John Hudson, the Bureau of Counterterrorism (State/CT) will now become the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT-CVE). The name change will reportedly “play up the importance of non-military programs aimed at eliminating the root causes of terrorism — programs referred to in government-speak as CVE.” The report also says it is unclear how “in practice the bureau would effectively coordinate the work of other key offices” citing in particular the State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) recently rebranded as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). Excerpt below:

But the center, newly-branded as the Global Engagement Center, will not report directly to the bureau, according to officials. It will continue to report to the under secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Its new leader is Michael Lumpkin, a former U.S. Navy officer who previously served as assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. Despite its lack of demonstrated effectiveness, the center’s annual budget of $5 million is expected to increase by at least $2 million. The president’s budget request for the next fiscal year is expected to be made public next week.

Some former officials said they worried that the Bureau of Counterterrorism’s new mandate is in name only. In reality, the bureau is heavily micromanaged by the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall– a dynamic that has caused tension and dysfunction in the past. “If they want it to function the way they say it’s going to function, then the under secretary needs to step back and let the bureau do it’s job, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said a former State Department official.

Active link for State/J added. Read more:

EXCLUSIVE: Growth of ISIS forces overhaul in State Dept. counter extremism apparatus, @John_Hudson reports https://t.co/T75SkCSARi

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) February 2, 2016

A related note, HRC was furnished a copy of an oped on the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) in 2012, drafted by then “R” Judith McHale and CSCC’s Richard LeBaron. In an email to Jake Sullivan, HRC writes, “This is a good idea but it was my idea which is not reflected in the text and I’d like us to clasim (sic) it.” The email is available to read here (PDF) via foia.state.gov.

Related posts:

State Department Announces Two New Special Envoys: Stratcom and Colombia Peace Process

February 23, 2015 By domani spero in Appointments, John F. Kerry, Political Appointees, Secretary of State, Special Envoys and Reps, State Department, Trends, WHA|Western Hemisphere Tags: Alberto M. Fernandez, Bernie Aronson, Colombian Peace Process, Rashad Hussain, State/CSCC, Strategic Counterterrorism Communications 3 Comments

Posted: 01:02 EST
Updated: 14:47 PST
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Last week, the State Department announced two new special envoy appointments. The first one announced on February 18 was the appointment of Rashad Hussain as United States Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. Since 2010, Special Envoy Hussain has served as U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In 2009, Mr. Hussain worked with the National Security Council in developing and pursuing the New Beginning that President Obama outlined in his address in Cairo, Egypt. Before joining the White House, Mr. Hussain was a member of the legal staff for the Presidential Transition Team.

Special Envoy Hussain will lead a staff drawn from a number of U.S. departments and agencies to expand international engagement and partnerships to counter violent extremism and to develop strategic counterterrorism communications around the world. As part of this role, Special Envoy Hussain will also serve as Coordinator of the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, which was established at the direction of the President and former Secretary of State Clinton in 2010 and codified by President Obama’s Executive Order 13584 to coordinate, orient, and inform government-wide strategic communications focused on violent extremists and terrorist organizations.
[…]
Mr. Hussain received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation, he served as a Law Clerk to Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Mr. Hussain also earned his Master’s degrees in Public Administration (Kennedy School of Government) and Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University. He attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His academic writings have focused on national security, constitutional law, and civil liberties.

~~It looks like~~ Special Envoy Hussain ~~would~~ will replace Ambassador Alberto M. Fernandez who assumed the position of Coordinator of the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) in 2012. The center was established in September 2010 to coordinate, orient, and inform government-wide public communications activities directed at audiences abroad and targeted against violent extremists and terrorist organizations, especially al-Qaida, its affiliates, and its adherents. We understand that Ambassador Fernandez is heading to retirement.

On February 20, Secretary Kerry also announced the appointment of Bernie Aronson as the United States special envoy for the Colombian peace process:

Now Bernie’s experience in this region is significant. It’s extensive. In addition to being a former assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, his well-recognized hard work in helping to resolve the conflicts in El Salvador and Nicaragua is really a lasting achievement in American diplomacy, and it earned him the State Department’s Distinguished Service Medal and the admiration of all those who followed those talks and who have worked in the region since.
[…]
These negotiations are not easy, and we know that. Negotiations like this never are. They’re reasons that this has gone on for years and years. If it was easy, it would have been done already. The Colombian Government and the FARC have been fighting for longer than most Colombians have been alive. And after so many years of violence, emotions always run strong, and that’s understandable.

But with courage, with determination, with a just and lasting commitment to peace, we think that the courage shown by President Santos and the people of Colombia in pursuing these talks could actually find a resolution. With the help of Special Envoy Aronson, the United States is going to continue to stand by Colombians’ side in this journey, and we hope that 2015 could possibly take a step forward in helping to bring Colombia the security, the prosperity and, most importantly, the peace that it deserves.

These latest appointments join almost 30 other special envoys/special representatives currently ~~encumbering~~ filling in various portfolios in Foggy Bottom ranging from Af/Pak and climate change to commercial/business affairs, and religion and foreign policy. Special envoy/special representative appointments do not require Senate confirmations.

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Related items:

-02/20/15 Remarks Announcing the New Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process Bernie Aronson; Secretary of State John Kerry; Treaty Room; Washington, DC

-02/18/15 Appointment of Rashad Hussain as United States Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications; Office of the Spokesperson; Washington, DC

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