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FOREWORD

This report on State-sponsored terrorism was prepared by Dr. Ray S. Cline and Dr. Yonah Alexander of the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University.

Some of the basic research for the document and much of the review of the manuscript was undertaken by the staff of the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism.

During 3 days of joint hearings on International Terrorism, Insurgency, and Drug Trafficking there were repeated references to the text of the report.

In order to augment the published transcripts of those proceedings and provide a ready reference on the topic of State-sponsored terrorism for members of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Judiciary Committee has chosen to publish this report.

Strom Thurmond, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary.

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CONTENTS

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III

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Letter of Transmittal ....

Foreword .......................

Preface ................

Executive Summary .

CHAPTER 1—THE PROBLEM ............

CHAPTER II-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF A NEW AGE OF TERRORISM.

Factors Contributing to Contemporary Terrorism ..............

Legacy of the Age of Andropov .

Proliferation of State-Sponsored Terrorism .............................

Wild Cards in the Mideast.......

State-Sponsored Attacks ..........

Prospects for Increase of State-Sponsored Terrorism ........

CHAPTER III-DEFINING STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM ....

Basic Elements of and Anatomy of Terrorism ...................

Intergovernmental Definitions .............

Attempts by Foreign Governments to Define Terrorism ...............

U.S. Perceptions of Terrorism .............

Lack of Consensus in Non-Governmental Definitions .....

The U.S. Federal System

Role of the U.S. Congress...................

The Executive Branch ........................................................

A Working U.S. Definition ..................................

CHAPTER IV-STATE SPONSORSHIP OF TERRORISM IN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT ...

Defining Low-Intensity Conflict ....

Insurgency ...........

Guerrilla Military Operations ..................................

Political Revolution ..................

War of National Liberation ..................................................................................

Nature of State Sponsorship .........................................................

Forms of State Sponsorship......

State Sponsorship by More Than One Government .....

Operations in Central America .......

Southern Africa .............

Outreach of State Sponsorship ...................

State-Controlled Groups ............

Impact of State-Sponsored Terrorism on Terror International..............

State Sponsorship: Advantages and Weaknesses ....

The Future of State Sponsorship

CHAPTER V-RESPONSES TO STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM ........

The Chain of Command on Anti-Terrorism Planning ..............

The Role of the U.S. Army .......

Adoption of Active Response Policy ...

The Case of Nicaragua

U.S. Responsibility

Range of U.S. Countermeasures for State-Sponsored Terrorism ..............

The Role of Military Force

CHAPTER VI-CONCLUSION .......... ...................

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Preface

This study defines and analyzes the steadily increasing phenomenon of statesponsored terrorism, as requested by the Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, on August 17, 198*. It also suggests appropriate responses from the viewpoint of the United States.

The authors have drawn their material solely from open, unclassified sources. The information is, however, in many cases not available in data banks in the United States because it was collected in research conducted in many countries over a long period of time under the auspices of the Institute for Studies in International Terrorism, State University of New York.

The analytical and interpretative statements in this report, not identified as derived from specific research material, reflect the authors' judgment based on reviewing the totality of this evidence accumulated during their many years of study of terrorism and the history of international behavior of certain states that have encouraged or assisted terrorist acts.

The conclusions of this study are based on the authors' scholarly findings and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Army, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, or the Institute for Studies in International Terrorism, State University of New York.

May 30, 1985

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