The lack of such a coherent policy is one of the conditions that makes the United States a frequent target of terrorist attack. Developing such a policy is admittedly difficult, given the nature of terrorism and the difficulties it poses for the United States. State-sponsored terrorism has emerged as an effective and almost cost-free type of warfare for Iran, Libya, the Soviet Union, Cuba and Nicaragua. Narco-terrorism is a particularly heinous form of attack on the United States. In spite of all the difficulties, recognizing the links between terrorist- sponsoring states and understanding their objectives is the first step towards developing a policy. There are specific defensive and offensive strategies the Western democracies can employ to fight back. (Author abstract)