Recently appointed Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department’s new Bureau of Counterterrorism, testified in April before a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He offered his assessment of the bureau’s overall approach, which is to lead “in supporting U.S. counterterrorism diplomacy” and seek to “strengthen homeland security, counter violent extremism, and build the capacity of partner nations to deal effectively with terrorism.”

Ambassador Benjamin further said, referring to the National Strategy for Counterterrorism released last year, “We are engaged in a broad, sustained, and integrated campaign that harnesses every tool of American power—civilian, military and the power of our values—together with the concerted efforts of allies, partners, and multilateral institutions to address a short-term and a long-term challenge.”

 “Our tactical abilities,” he stated, “as exemplified by the extraordinary mission against [Osama] bin Laden last year…answer a critical national need. But those abilities, he added, “are only part of our comprehensive CT [counterterrorism] strategy that also includes concerted action to reduce radicalization, stop the flow of new recruits, and create an international environment that is inhospitable for all the kinds of activity that precede terrorist violence.”