FIGHTING TERRORISM WILL BE AN ENDURING TASK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000303060001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 1, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP9O-00552ROO0303060001-0
,PP RED U. S. NTEWS F WORLD RFPORT
= 1 J
l
1985
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y
Fighting Terrorism
Will "Be an
Enduring Task"
"A new era of conflict" is coming, predicts an
expert. He warns that Americans increasingly
will be targets of terrorists who are being used
as surrogate soldiers by other governments.
Q Mr. Jenkins, the U.S. has been trying for years to combat
the terrorist threat, and yet today the problem seems worse
than ever. Do we face a permanent dilemma?
A I certainly think international terrorism is going to
persist. In fact, I think we're on the edge of a new era of
conflict in which limited conventional combat, classic guer-
rilla war and international terrorism coexist side by side on
the international plane.
Q Are you saying the terrorist problem will get worse?
A We confront a frustrating paradox. Governments have
been increasing their efforts to combat terrorism-by im-
proving their intelligence, increasing the securit around
obvious targets, mobilizing to respond more effectively.
But the fact is the volume of global terrorism has not
declined. It has increased, and it's becoming bloodier.
Q Why is terrorism such a persistent phenomenon?
A Terrorism functions as an avenue of political expres-
sion for extremists, whether they are motivated by ideolo-
gy. ethnicity or religion.
Increasingly, it is also becoming an instrument of state pol-
icy among certain governments. Indeed, one of the trends
we see that makes, it so difficult to deal with terrorism is the
increasing participation of governments in adopting terror-
ist tactics, employing terrorist groups or exploiting terrorist
incidents as surrogate warfare.
Q Why are Americans singled out as targets?
A It's the price we pay for influence and presence. Amer-
ica, of course, is the chief capitalist nation of the world. That
provokes some groups.
Also, terrorists exaggerate the degree
of influence Washington has over other
governments. They truly believe that if
they kidnap an American diplomat, the
President need only pick up the phone
and tell the local government what to
do in order to resolve the episode.
Finally, Americans are ubiquitous-
they are everywhere. So they are readi-
ly available as targets.
With regard to the current situation
in the Middle East, we must understand
the deep suspicion and hatred with
which Shiites view us. They see every
bullet fired at them as made in Ameri-
ca. And they view many aspects of
Western cultural influence as blasphe-
Brian Jenkins, 42, is director of the
Security and Subnational Conflict
Program at the Rand Corporation, a
Santa Monica, Calif., think tank.
mous. Shiite extremists, in addition to the TWA hostages.
hold an American diplomat. an American journalist, an
American librarian and a couple of American priests. The
message is: -We don't want any American influence here.
We want you guys out."
Q Will they succeed in driving the U.S. out of the Mideast?
A We have to admit that in Iran they did succeed, and to a
certain extent they have succeeded in Lebanon as well. The
U.S. presence in Lebanon has been drastically reduced as a
result of terrorist action, especially kidnappings.
Q Is there any danger that the kind of violence directed
against Americans in the Mideast will appear on U.S. soil?
A We should knock on wood here. There's always a
danger of a spectacular incident or two. But thus far, the
U.S. has been immune to terrorist attacks from abroad. In
part it's geography. Terrorists can travel through the Mid-
dle East and Europe fairly easily. But here they're at the
edge of their reach, and our law-enforcement agencies
have shown themselves to be very effective.
Second, many terrorists from the Middle East actually
went to school in Europe and felt at home in European
cities. We have not had a large foreign presence.
There may also be a certain degree of self-imposed con-
straint operating. Most terrorist groups want to get the U.S.
to alter its behavior to their benefit. To carry out attacks in
this country could very well provoke a hostile U.S. reaction
that would be counterproductive.
Q In the recent TWA incident, what appears to have been a
limited airline-hijacking event was transformed into a more elab-
orate hostage situation with a militia group in charge. Are we
witnessing a new species of terror operation?
A Put the current hijacking aside because we don't have
all the details yet. The fact is that more and more terrorism
is part of broader strategic or diplomatic campaigns by
others.
In many recent cases, you have a handful of terrorists.
but behind them you have a whole structure of diplomatic
and political aims. This is war on a hundred fronts. In
responding, we may be obliged to take more active mea-
sures to demonstrate to the terrorist patrons that there is a
cost associated with it.
Q Action against a state, for example?
A Against the state, right.
Q Do you think that we have reached that point now?
Interview With Brian Jenkins,
Authority on
Unconventional Warfare
A Somewhere there is a red line
which, when terrorists cross it, will trig-
ger a U.S. response. I don't know where
that red line is. We may be close.
Q Would such a response deter future
terrorist actions?
A
it we uo responu to stare-spon-
sored terrorism with military force, we
ought not to have any illusions about
what we will achieve. We are not going
to end terrorism, and indeed there may
be more retaliatory actions against us.
We also must recognize that al-
though we may make moral distinc-
tions between dropping bombs on a
city from 20,000 feet and car bombs
driven into embassies by suicidal ter-
rorists, the world may not share that
fine distinction.
We can talk about containing terror-
ism, we can talk about trying to deal
with incidents that do occur, but none
of that implies that there is a final solu-
tion. Combatting terrorism is going to
be an enduring task. ^
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP9O-00552ROO0303060001-0