U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Conference Report -- International Terrorism

NCJ Number
122516
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: (1988) Pages: 335-337
Author(s)
D R Hamilton
Date Published
1988
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The United States is pursuing a four-part counterterrorism policy that includes treating terrorists as criminals, not making concessions or deals with terrorists, applying pressure to terror-supporting States, and implementing a series of practical measures.
Abstract
Although each country generally treats their own terrorists as criminals within the criminal justice system, the public often tries to look for a motive for international incidents. The international agreements on air piracy and internationally protected persons generally ignore the motivations behind terrorism and simply define the prohibited actions. Governments should pursue talks with terrorist groups, but without concessions. Nations should not hesitate to use diplomatic demarche, publicity, or military strikes to raise the cost to State sponsors of terrorism. The international climate is moving toward recognition that terrorists are criminals, thus a mixture of law enforcement and intelligence procedures can also assist in apprehending terrorists.