When a terrorist incident occurs outside the United States, the U.S. Government consults closely and offers practical support to the host government, which should exercise its responsibility to protect persons within its jurisdiction and to enforce the law in its territory. When another government sponsors or directs a terrorist incident against the United States, all appropriate diplomatic, political, economic, or military measures will be taken to resolve the incident and to resist this form of international blackmail. The United States strongly supports the multilateral convention dealing with particular terrorist crimes to bring them within the criminal law. At the bilateral level, the United States has consulted many countries on sharing information on terrorists and their plans. The Reagan Administration has created an Interdepartmental Group on Terrorism to serve as the policy formulation and coordination body for the Government. In addition, most major cities have special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams, which form an important aspect of the response capability. The Department of State has the leading role in the Government group on terrorism because most of the terrorist incidents have been directed against our diplomats or American interests overseas. Although the United States has the policies, programs, and organization in place to deal with terrorism, more action, both by international organizations and by individual countries, is needed. An analysis of the patterns of international terrorism during 1981 and a discussion of terrorism against diplomats are included. Footnotes, tables, diagrams, and photographs are provided.