State official: Obama will step up fight against terrorism
Counterterrorism coordinator says he would expect the new administration to engage "with more countries and more in depth with countries."
The State Department's top counterterrorism official on Tuesday predicted that President-elect Barack Obama's incoming team would in some ways be more aggressive in fighting terrorism around the world than the Bush administration.
Counterterrorism coordinator Dell Dailey said he did not mean the Obama administration would do more to try to kill terrorists, but would be more aggressive in building partnerships with other nations.
Based on his meetings with the transition team and Obama's own statements, Dailey said he would expect the new administration to engage "with more countries and more in depth with countries" than has the current government. The Bush administration has been "very aggressive in bilaterals [one-on-one relationships with foreign governments].
But the United States probably has not been as aggressive as we should be in multilateral efforts," Dailey said.
There are counterterrorism efforts in Africa and Asia where "there are no U.S. fingerprints at all," he said. "We should be involved." American engagement in those multinational activities would not require troops, but should have U.S. financial and other support, he added.
Dailey had nothing but praise for the Secretary of State-nominee, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., citing a "very savvy presentation" she made several years ago after a visit to Afghanistan and her record in the Senate.
He had no objections to Clinton's reported plans to name special envoys to oversee certain hot spots, such as the Middle East. A retired Army lieutenant general and career special operations warrior, Dailey called the reported selection of retired Adm. Dennis Blair to be national intelligence director a good choice, and said the expected nomination of Leon Panetta as CIA director was "a prudent choice" because of Panetta's "people skills and managerial skills."
Dailey said he believes that Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida leadership "has been beaten back into a smaller hole" and were incapable of planning a major attack on the United States because of disruption to their communications and funding. But he added that al-Qaida remained dangerous because it has become a decentralized network of kindred groups around the world.