NCJ Number
63168
Date Published
1975
Length
192 pages
Annotation
THIS BOOK PRESENTS AN ESSAY ON THE NATURE OF TERRORISM, FOLLOWED BY DETAILED, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF 11 INCIDENTS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN 1971 AND 1973.
Abstract
AN 1869 PAMPHLET FIRST PROCLAIMED TERRORISM AS A LEGITIMATE POLITICAL WEAPON. MODERN TERRORISTS FORM A HETEROGENEOUS ARRAY OF GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO SEEK DIVERSE GOALS. THEIR ONLY COMMON CHARACTERISTIC IS THEIR COMMITMENT TO TERRORISM; THEIR INDIFFERENCE TO THE INNOCENCE OF THEIR VICTIMS. THEIR BACKGROUNDS VARY WIDELY. IN THE PAST 6 YEARS, 432 MAJOR ACTS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM HAVE BEEN RECORDED. THE DIVERSE AND OFTEN DIFFUSE NATURE OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND METHODS MAKES DETERRING OR CONTROLLING THEM EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. NARRATIVE ACCOUNTS OF INCIDENTS FROM IRELAND, PAKISTAN, ISRAEL, GERMANY, KHARTOUM, CHILE, AND ITALY ILLUSTRATE THE COMMON ELEMENTS AND THE HORROR OF TERRORIST ACTS. THIS GROWING USE OF TERRORISM IS A MEASURE OF ITS SUCCESS AS A POLITICAL WEAPON. MEASURES TO END TERRORISM REMAIN UNTESTED. A SUGGESTED READING LIST AND NUMEROUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF TERRORISTS' VICTIMS ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)