NCJ Number
191697
Date Published
August 2001
Length
57 pages
Annotation
This paper looks at the proliferation of American counterterrorist measures between 1960 and 2000 and suggests methods that can be adopted in the future.
Abstract
President Reagan summarized American policy of its response to terrorism: it will be swift and effective retribution. Between the hijackings in late mid-century and the turn of the century, the United States introduced a number of counterterrorist measures. One was the 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, which 120 countries signed. The United States also sought international agreements concerning weapons of mass destruction, such as the 1979 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. Others included biological weapons and plastic explosives treaties. Other diplomatic initiatives included economic incentives to states, such as debt reduction, to help eliminate terrorism, and propaganda. Where diplomatic efforts did not work, the United States tried coercion, such as political sanctions, suspension of military sales, and prohibition on travel, military strikes, and assassinations. In the 1990's, the United States began labeling organizations as terrorist groups. Figure 2 is a list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. In response to attacks against Americans overseas, more attention was placed on protecting them. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, it began to set in that terrorism could occur on American soil, no longer just on the international stage. The government changed immigration procedures that affected how foreign citizens could be brought to trial. The Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 made it a crime to murder or attempt to murder Americans in terrorist acts abroad. Efforts also were made to prevent weapons from getting into terrorists' hands or trace the use of the weapons back to them. Laws require the president to keep Congress informed on whether a country has used chemical or biological weapons. The United States collects or freezes a country's funds as leverage to modify a state's behavior. Domestic preparedness funding went from zero in 1995 to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2000. Presidential Decision Directive 39 (PDD 39) instituted several response teams in Federal agencies. Footnotes