DEALING WITH TERRORISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404580005-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: September 9, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

`STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404580005-7
ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAGE -
RICHARD NIXON
Dealing
with
terrorism
o one can quarrel with the
proposition that the United
States must not use mili-
tary force unless we have
WASHINGTON TIMES
9S eptember 1985
and its friends and allies. It is also a
tactic that our enemies use to try to
drive the United States out of the
Third World. We were forced out of
Lebanon not by another country but
by suicidal terrorist bands whom we
could barely identify and whose
sponsors remain out of our reach.
Our military forces can only fight
an enemy they can see. All the mili-
tary power in the world is useless
against shadows. If the United States
wants to continue to play a role in the
Third World it must attack terrorism
at its source. We must hold those
who inspire it and pay for it
accountable for their actions.
The most powerful weapon terror-
ists have is the civilized world's paro-
chial approach to combating them.
If Americans are taken hostage, the
world considers it solely an
American problem. If most of the
passengers of a hijacked jet are
Kuwaitis, the hijacking is consid-
ered primarily Kuwait's problem.
When a car bomb explodes in the
streets of Paris, we leave it up to
France to respond.
By reacting in this narrow-
minded way, we play into the terror-
ists' hands. Terrorism today is an
international challenge to interna-
tional order, and it requires an inter-
national response.
The Soviet Union's record in
fueling international terrorism is
well-known. But it is not the only
nation that does so. The Ayatollah
Khomeini's Iran and Muammar Qad-
dafi's Libya are both international
outlaws that openly praise, protect,
and incite those who commit terror-
ist acts. Such state-supported-and-
sponsored terrorism is one of the
most dangerous threats to peace in
the world.
Dealings within and between
nations depend on order. Diplomats
must be able to travel, and embas-
sies to keep their doors open, with-
out fear of assassinations and
attacks, and businessmen must be
able to go about their business with-
out being kidnapped. Terrorism
breeds fear; fear breeds insularity
and suspiciousness; and these inevi-
tably will serve to drive nations
apart. When that happens, the whole
world will suffer the consequences.
I n most cases of state-sponsored
terrorism, military reprisals,
though tempting, are impracti-
cal. But what has been most pathetic
about the civilized world's response
to terrorism is that it has made so
little use of the wide array of choices
short of military action available to
it. Terrorism is a way to divide and
conquer - but only if its victims
allow themselves to be divided.
When terrorists act against one
nation, other nations should respond
as if it were an attack on them all -
because, in essence, it is. The first
impulse of other nations should not
be relief that they were not the vic-
tims but outrage that someone was.
The civilized world must develop
a unified policy for dealing with ter-
rorism. All nations that are potential
victims s tou oo an s are
intelligence-gat ermg an commu-
nications resources. When military
retaliation is appropriate, they must
be prepared to act together.
Most important, they must recog-
nize that even nations that support
terrorism depend on their victims.
While neither Iran nor Libya could
survive without selling oil, the rest
of the world could survive without
Iranian and Libyan oil. In the past,
economic and diplomatic sanctions
and quarantines have been justifi-
ably criticized for being ineffective.
They were ineffective, however, pri-
marily because too few nations par-
ticipated.
Terrorists will not be deterred by
U.N. resolutions or expressions of
outrage by leaders or legislatures.
But they may be deterred once they
realize that by using terror they will
spark the wrath of all nations that do
not want to exist in a world riven by
a tiny minority who have resorted to
violence in pursuit of their objec.
tives. We will only eliminate terror-
ism if we choke it off by drawing the
dark curtain of international con-
demnation around its sponsors.
And actions will speak louder
than words. Unless they are willing
to live Peacefully in the community
of nations, we cannot allow them any
of tk-
the means tlb achieve our goal of vic-
tory. But We must recognize that
where out interests are clearly
involved, gibs must take risks to pro-
tect their
Every;~military operation cannot
be a sure thing. The United States is
a grewl power with worldwide
respon#ibilities. We will not prevail
against an enemy willing to take any
risk to achieve victory if we are
unwilling to take some risks to pre-
vent defeat.
The same principle applies to
international terrorism. Some urge
restraint in retaliating against ter-
rorism because of the admittedly
significant risk of casualties among
civilians, hostages, and our military
personnel. But while we cannot act
in every instance of terrorism, we
should always act decisively when
we know who is responsible and
where they are. Otherwise we give
carte blanche to these international
outlaws to strike again.
If one group of terrorists suc-
ceeds in intimidating the United
States, others will be encouraged to
try, and more lives will undoubtedly
be lost as a result. Swift, timely
retaliation, even if there is some risk
to innocent people, will mean that
other terrorists will be less likely to
threaten and kill innocent people in
the future. Repeated threats to
retaliate that are not followed by
action are counterproductive. A
president of the United States
should warn only once.
Terrorism, whether undertaken
by states, political groups, or
individuals, is one of the most
insidious and deadly aspects of the
Third World War. The Soviet Union
and its proxies use terrorism to
wage covert war against the West
This is the fifth of 11 monthly arti-
cles by Richard M. Nixon that will
appear in the Washington times by
arrangement with the News
America Syndicate.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404580005-7