Here are some advance excerpts of the big counter-terrorism speech John Edwards will be giving today at noon in New York City.

Edwards will propose the creation of an organization called Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization, a kind of NATO-knockoff devoted to coordinating anti-terrorism activities between countries "on all continents."

"CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence," Edwards will say. "The new organization will also create a historic new coalition. Those nations who join will, by working together, show the world the power of cooperation. Those nations who join will also be required to commit to tough criteria about the steps they will take to root out extremists, particularly those who cross borders. Those nations who refuse to join will be called out before the world."

We're not sure what that last line would mean in practice, but hopefully Edwards will elaborate in the speech. Meanwhile, here's another key line from the speech: "We need a counterterrorism policy that will actually counter terrorism."

More excerpts after the jump.

From Edwards' speech:

There is now only one key question we must ask ourselves: are we any closer to getting rid of terrorism than we were six years ago? And the terrible answer is no, we’re further away. Today, terrorism is worse in Iraq, and it’s worse around the world. So what does all this mean? It means the results are in on George Bush’s so-called “global war on terror” and it’s not just a failure, it’s a double-edged failure.

***

We saw the promise of a new multilateral approach just a couple of days ago in Germany. The terrorists the German authorities caught were plotting massive attacks on American interests. They had been trained in Pakistan, had a network in Turkey, and were captured through German and American intelligence. We must be able to coordinate similar operations throughout the world—in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and anywhere terrorists would attack.

***

As president, I will launch a comprehensive new counterterrorism policy that will be defined by two principles – cooperation and strength. The centerpiece of this policy will be a new multilateral organization called the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization. Every nation has an interest in shutting down terrorism. CITO will create connections between a wide range of nations on terrorism and intelligence, including countries on all continents, including Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. New connections between previously separate nations will be forged, creating new possibilities.

***

CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence. Together, nations will be able to track the way terrorists travel, communicate, recruit, train, and finance their operations. And they will be able to take action, through international teams of intelligence and national security professionals who will launch targeted missions to root out and shut down terrorist cells. The new organization will also create a historic new coalition. Those nations who join will, by working together, show the world the power of cooperation. Those nations who join will also be required to commit to tough criteria about the steps they will take to root out extremists, particularly those who cross borders. Those nations who refuse to join will be called out before the world.

***

We need a counterterrorism policy that will actually counter terrorism. That matches 21st century threats with 21st century tactics. That replaces Cold War thinking designed to defeat a single, implacable enemy with new world thinking that can defeat a multi-national, diverse, and often hidden foe – not just now, but for the long-term. That’s strong, fast, and hard enough to stop terrorists cold, but also smart, honest, and prescient enough to draw people away from terrorism in the first place. And to do all of this, we must do one thing. We’ve got to throw away the failed George Bush policies of the past, and move in a bold new direction.”

***

Instead of Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars and protect traditional borders, we need new institutions designed to share intelligence, cooperate across borders, and take out small, hostile groups. Instead of a foreign policy of convenience that readily does business with whoever is available and regularly turns a blind eye when our allies behave wrongly or fail to cooperate, we need a new foreign policy of conviction that requires cooperation in exchange for our support, whether it’s arms sales, trade, or foreign aid. Instead of an exclusively short-term focus on the enemy we know, we need a long-term strategy to win the minds of those who are not yet our enemies, by offering education, democracy, and opportunity in place of radicalism, hatred and fear. Most of all, instead of reckless, solo pursuit of an ideological agenda that abandons our moral authority and disregards our allies, we need to reengage with the world and reassert our moral leadership.