DATE=2/11/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=TERRORISM TODAY
NUMBER=5-45432
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: This past week's hijacking of the Afghan
airliner points up the changing nature of terrorism,
according to a recent conference (Thurs., Feb. 10) at
the Brookings Institution in Washington. Participants
said terrorism today is harder to understand because
its motives are often unclear. But as V-O-A's Ed
Warner reports, that makes it no less dangerous.
TEXT: Better get used to terrorism, says Richard
Haas, director of foreign policy studies at the
Brookings Institution, a Washington research
organization. It is here to stay:
/// Haas Act ///
Think of terrorism not as a problem to be
solved, but as a condition to be managed and
dealt with. It is now part of the fabric or
structure of the post-cold war, globalized world
we live in. We can beat it back, but it cannot
be eliminated.
/// End Act ///
Contemporary terrorists do not always reveal their
motives or even their objectives, says Paul Pillar, a
former deputy chief of counter-intelligence for the
Central Intelligence Agency.
/// Pillar Act ///
We see less of the measured use of terrorism,
hostage taking and hijacking and so on to
achieve some particular, precise political
result - the release of comrades in prison or
recognition of a group -- something of that
nature. We have seen relatively more of the
indiscriminate striking out, inflicting death
and destruction simply because the terrorist
hates his adversary or seeks revenge for
perceived wrongs or is driven by some divine
motive in the case of religious terrorists.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Pillar adds it is often not clear who is
responsible for a terrorist act. Increasingly, it
seems to be the work of a free lancer rather than
someone working for a state. Today's rootless
terrorist, he says, is harder to track as he shifts
from one country to the next.
U-S anti-terrorist policy may not be keeping up with
this change, says Meghan O'Sullivan, research
associate in foreign policy studies at Brookings. It
continues to concentrate on state terrorism with
ambiguous results.
/// O'Sullivan Act ///
Perhaps the best example of this frustrated
policy would be Iran, where comprehensive
American sanctions have had very modest success
in changing the behavior of the regime or
denying the resources, such as foreign exchange,
needed to carry out this behavior when our
European allies have continued to trade and
invest in Iran.
/// End Act ///
Meghan O'Sullivan says U-S policy should distinguish
more carefully among the varieties of terrorism and
impose penalties that are appropriate. Sanctions work
best when they are not unilateral but have
international support.
In an era of largely stateless terrorism, she says the
United States should stop referring to "rogue
regimes," as if some nations must be isolated and
punished for actions that may not qualify as
terrorism. (Signed)
NEB/EW/ENE/JP
11-Feb-2000 10:55 AM EDT (11-Feb-2000 1555 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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