NCJ Number
131227
Date Published
1991
Length
286 pages
Annotation
This book by Admiral Stansfield Turner, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1977-81) under President Carter, examines how U.S. policy toward international terrorism under eight presidents has been influenced by democratic principles.
Abstract
U.S. policy toward terrorism is examined in the context of particular terrorist incidents with particular attention to the author's own experience in the development of policy in response to the Iranian hostage crisis under President Carter. The book notes that presidential responses to terrorism have run the gamut of "pro-active" measures (assassination, punitive military attacks, covert action, rescue operations, improved intelligence, and media restraint) and "pro-legal" tactics (economic and political pressures, defensive security, deals, and legal recourse). The author argues against assassinations and for the sparing use of punitive military attacks, the judicious use of covert actions, and limited use of rescue operations. Although he believes media restraint could be helpful, modest self-restraint is the most that can be expected under the free-speech doctrine. He favors economic sanctions against State sponsors of terrorism, even if they require a long time to be effective. He acknowledges that defensive security is unlikely to receive sufficient attention or money, and he believes that negotiations should not be totally ruled out. He advises that legal recourse (apprehension of terrorists and the isolation of States that support terrorism) is the strategy most compatible with American values. Chapter notes and a subject index