AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO DEFINE TERRORISM AND TO ANALYZE THE MOTIVES OF SUCH TERRORISTS AS UNIVERSITY-EDUCATED ULRIKE MEINHOF OF GERMANY'S BAADER-MEINHOF GANG AND THE ELUSIVE 'CARLOS,' A VETERAN OF NUMEROUS TERRORIST OPERATIONS. IN WEST GERMANY, TERRORISTS SUCCEEDED IN KILLING THAT NATION'S CHIEF FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SECOND BIGGEST BANK, AND THE HEAD OF THE FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIES TO ACHIEVE THEIR AIM OF DESTROYING SOCIETY AND REPLACING IT WITH A STATE OF CONTINUOUS REVOLUTION. CONVERSELY, THE ITALIAN RED BRIGADES AROSE IN RESPONSE TO ITALY'S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CRISES, THE PALESTINIANS TO DESTROY ISRAEL, AND LATIN AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARIES TO OVERTHROW MILITARY GOVERNMENTS OR DICTATORSHIPS. ONLY THE JAPANESE RED ARMY SHARES GERMAN TERRORISTS' NIHILIST, REVOLUTIONARY VIEWS. BECAUSE TERRORISM IS THE CHEAPEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF WARFARE, VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS HAVE RESPONDED WITH FORCE (ISRAELI BOMBING OF PALESTINIAN TARGETS IN LEBANON AND WEST GERMANY'S USE OF A COMMANDO SQUAD TO RESCUE HOSTAGES) OR COMPLIANCE TO TERRORIST DEMANDS (JAPANESE RANSOM PAYMENTS AND LATIN AMERICAN SURRENDER OF JAILED TERRORISTS). TO COMBAT THIS INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM, THE UNITED NATIONS ADOPTED A CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF DIPLOMATS AND A RESOLUTION CONDEMNING HIJACKING AND RECOMMENDING INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AIRPORT SECURITY. OUTSIDE THE UNITED NATIONS, SEVEN INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACIES AGREED TO SUSPEND AIR TRAFFIC TO AND FROM COUNTRIES THAT HARBOR TERRORISTS, RECENT SOVIET EFFORTS POINT TO EASTERN EUROPEAN CONCERN WITH THIS FORMERLY WESTERN PROBLEM, AND RADICAL ARAB STATES ARE REFUSING TO SERVE AS HAVENS FOR HIJACKERS. THE PRESENT U.S. POLICY OF REFUSING TO YIELD TO BLACKMAIL AND OF COOPERATING WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS IN ANTITERRORIST ACTIVITIES HAS ENCOURAGED OTHER MEASURES, SUCH AS THE STRENGTHENING OF AIRPORT SECURITY, THE IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSICAL SECURITY OF OVERSEAS FACILITIES, AND THE MOBILIZATION OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS BEHIND U.S. EFFORTS. A SUMMARY OF MAJOR ANTITERRORIST COUNTERMEASURES IS PROVIDED, INCLUDING THE VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT CONCERNING THE ROOTS OF TERRORISM AND POTENTIAL TREATMENT. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTED READINGS ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)