US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE1847

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