NCJ Number
98747
Date Published
1984
Length
11 pages
Annotation
American policy and organization for countering international terrorism emphasize refusing to concede to terrorist blackmail, bringing terrorists to justice, cooperating with other nations to combat terrorism, coordinating Federal agency responses to terrorism, and preventing terrorist acts.
Abstract
The Reagan administration has a policy of using all lawful measures to resolve terrorist incidents in such a way that the terrorists are denied any benefits from their actions and are made to account for their crimes. This involves making no concessions to terrorist demands. When a terrorist incident outside the United States involves American victims, the U.S. Government looks to the host country to enforce its laws and protect persons within its jurisdiction, but will consult with and support the host government in its efforts to resolve any terrorist incident. The United States supports international conventions designed to sanction and prevent specific terrorist activity, such as airplane hijacking and sabotage. The Reagan administration recently submitted legislation to the Congress which would provide antiterrorism assistance for foreign law enforcement personnel. The U.S. Government is particularly concerned that the community of nations recognize that some of its members are promoting terrorism and that a policy be developed to counter such terrorism. The Reagan administration has organized to improve intelligence gathering vis-a-vis terrorism and to coordinate antiterrorism policy development and operations among various Federal agencies and departments. Response capability has also been upgraded. The particular focus of the U.S. State Department has been the improving of security for diplomatic facilities and personnel overseas. A chart shows U.S. Government organization for antiterrorism planning, coordination, and policy formulation, and three notes and two footnotes are provided.