Washington, DC: On 30 October, The Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (CGCC) hosted a panel discussion on building the capacity of all countries to prevent and combat terrorism. Discussants include representatives from the US Department of State's Office of Coordination for Counterterrorism, the National Defense University, the United Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), and the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE).

In providing capacity to member States of the United Nations, CTED has taken a lead role in coordinating funds and in monitoring the implementation of resolutions 1373 and 1642. Before a member State is accorded any assistance, CTED must first visit and assess the State's program and progress. However, as CTED is a new organization, it is still in the process of building its own financial capacity.

In building the capacity of countries to prevent and combat terrorism, the US Department of State has implemented programs that provided training, equipment, and technical support. Commonly known among these programs are the Anti-terrorist Assistance Program (ATA), the Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP), the Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI), and the Counter Terrorism Finance Training (CTFT). In 2009, the ATA alone will have a budget of $ 140 million.

The United States, through the National Defense University, has delivered technical assistance and long-term ground support to twenty countries, and has trained over 1800 foreign counterparts on the best counterterrorism practices. On the other hand, the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism is working to translate standard security manuals to be used in sub-regional training workshops across the Americas.

The discussants highlighted some lessons learned for the incoming government of President-elect Barack Obama: 1) take a holistic approach to counterterrorism and capacity building; 2) intention should be focused on inspiring political will, because without the will the capacity is dormant; 3) law enforcement must be de-radicalized; 4) improve coordination to avoid duplication of counterterrorism and capacity building efforts; 5) adjust focus to endeavor towards long term targets; 6) establish partnerships that ensure the continued assistance of donors; 7) continue funding; 8) continue staffing; and 9) change the framework and verbiage to from 'counter' measure to 'pro' active measure.