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Hostage-Taking Negotiations: Incident-Response Strategy

NCJ Number
134623
Author(s)
A C MacWillson
Date Published
1992
Length
275 pages
Annotation
This book examines the problems faced by governments in handling terrorist hostage situations; it addresses the specialized subject of crisis management when applied to hostage taking incidents.
Abstract
The first chapter provides an overview of the development of international terrorism including summaries of definitions, the causes and objectives of terrorism, terrorist methods, and the incidence of hostage taking. The book analyzes the development of terrorist incident handling and negotiation objectives of both government and terrorist. A separate chapter focuses on negotiating philosophy, cell organization, objectives, attitudes of participants toward hostage taking, and the role of hostages in the negotiations. Effective government crisis management may be determined by incident management and response planning, as well as containment and armed response; this chapter also discusses factors affecting strategic and tactical decisionmaking. Operational and support requirements as well as technical support requirements for crisis management and negotiations are covered. Factors and considerations, armed assault, and intelligence that could impact on incident resolution are examined. Other chapters deal with the psychological aspects of hostage taking, kidnap and random issues, and international counterterrorism. Future trends are discussed in terms of tactics and countermeasures. Three case studies of hostage taking are presented: the South Moluccan train siege, hostage taking incidents in Honduras, and the Iranian Embassy siege.