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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1994 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1993
Department of State Publication 10136
Office of the Secretary
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
CONTENTS
Global issues are a central focus of the Clinton administration, and
international terrorism is one of the deadliest and most persistent.
Terrorism made the headlines throughout 1993:
- The World Trade Center bombing in February.
- The foiled Iraqi plat to assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait
in April.
- Numerous coordinated attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party
throughout Western Europe on two separate dates in June and
November.
It is clear that terrorism is an issue that will remain with us for
quite some time.
The focus of the US counterterrorism policy for more than a decade has
been simple and direct:
- Make no concessions.
- Apply the rule of law and improve the capabilities of friendly
governments to counter the threat they face.
- Apply pressure on state sponsors.
The key to a successful, long-term counterterrorism policy is
international cooperation on these three basic elements. The United States
enforced this policy in many ways during the past year:
- When it became clear that the Government of Iraq was responsible for
the foiled plot to kill former President Bush, the United States used
military force to demonstrate to Saddam Husayn that such behavior
would not be tolerated.
- The United States encouraged ongoing international support for and
adherence to UN sanctions against Libya, which are mandatory and
represent the first such steps imposed by the United Nations on a
state solely because of its support for terrorism.
- The US Senate ratified the "Convention on the Marking of Plastic
Explosives for the Purpose of Detection." This important
convention is a positive legacy from the bombing of Pan Am Flight
103; it deserves and is receiving widespread international
support.
- A recent success was the well-coordinated apprehension last July of
Egyptair hijacker Mohammed Ali Rezaq, who was released from prison in Malta
after serving a partial sentence for murdering an American and an Israeli
aboard the hijacked plane in 1985. He was apprehended and brought to the
United States, where he is awaiting trial for air piracy. He would have
gone free had it not been for close cooperation among several countries,
including Ghana and Nigeria.
- We offer specialized antiterrorism training to friendly foreign
countries that face terrorism at home. The courses teach skills in such
areas as airport security, maritime security, VIP protection, management of
a terrorist incident, and hostage negotiation. Since the program began 10
years ago, we have trained more than 15,000 civilian law enforcement
personnel from 81 countries.
This administration is committed to maintaining an effective
international counterterrorism policy. Maintaining our vigilance and
increasing or adjusting our capabilities to ensure the safety of Americans
and American interests throughout the world is a high priority.
This report is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United
States Code, Section 265f(a), which requires the Department of State to
provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those
countries and groups meeting the criteria of Section (a)(1) and (2) of the
Act. As required by legislation, the report includes detailed assessments
of foreign countries where significant terrorist acts occurred, and
countries about which Congress was notified during the preceding five years
pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (the
so-called terrorism list countries that have repeatedly provided state
support for international terrorism). In addition, the report includes all
relevant information about the previous year's activities of individuals,
terrorist groups, or umbrella groups under which such terrorist groups
fall, known to be responsible for the kidnapping or death of any American
citizen during the preceding five years, and groups known to be financed by
state sponsors of terrorism.
No one definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance. For the
purpose of this report, however, we have chosen the definition of terrorism
contained in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 265f(d). That
statue contains the following definitions:
- The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically
motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant [1]
targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended
to influence an audience.
- The term "international terrorism" means terrorism
involving citizens of the territory of more than one
country.
- The term "terrorist group" means any group practicing, or
that has significant subgroups that practice, international
terrorism.
The US Government has employed this definition for statistical and
analytical purposes since 1983.
In a number of countries, domestic terrorism, or an active insurgency,
has a greater impact on the level of political violence than does
international terrorism. Although not the primary purpose of this report,
we have attempted to indicate those areas where this is the case.
Adverse mention in this report of individual members of any political,
social, ethnic, religious, or national group is not meant to imply that all
members of that group are terrorists. Indeed, terrorists represent a small
minority of dedicated, often fanatical, individuals in most such groups. It
is that small group - and their actions - that is the subject of this
report.
Furthermore, terrorist acts are part of a larger phenomenon of
politically inspired violence, and at times the line between the two can
become difficult to draw. To relate terrorist event to the larger context,
and to give a feel for the conflicts that spawn violence, this report will
discuss terrorist acts as well as other violent incidents that are not
necessarily international terrorism.
Barbara K. Bodine
Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Patterns of Global Terrorism:
1993
[1] For purposes of this definition, the term
"noncombatant" is interpreted to include, in addition to
civilians, military personnel who at the time of the incident are unarmed
and/or not on duty. For example, in past reports we have listed as
terrorist incidents the murders of the following US military personnel:
Col. James Rowe, killed in Manila in April 1989; Capt. William Nordeen, US
defense attache killed in Athens in June 1988; the two servicemen killed in
the La Belle disco bombing in West Berlin in April 1986; and the four
off-duty US Embassy Marine guards killed in a cafe in El Salvador in June
1985. We also consider as acts of terrorism attacks on military
installations or on armed military personnel when a state of military
hostilities does not exist at the site, such as bombings against US bases
in Europe or elsewhere.
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