Practical Measures for Dealing with Terrorism

摘要

Today I would like to discuss how our government is working to suppress terrorism. The problem is global, but it presents a special problem for those of us who live in democratic countries. We face this special problem because terrorism's most significant characteristic is that it despises and seeks to destroy the fundamentals of Western democracy-respect for individual life and the rule of law. Terrorism is very real, the numbers are sobering. 1) Last year there were almost 800 incidents of international terrorism. 2) The citizens and property of over 80 countries were the victims or targets of international terrorist attacks. 3) International terrorist activity in 1986 caused almost 2,000 casualties. For me terrorism has a personal side. There are memorial plaques in the State Department lobby listing the names of American diplomats who died in the line of duty since 1776. When I joined the Foreign Service 20 years ago, there were 81 names on those plaques. All but four died from earthquakes, plagues, and other nonpurposeful causes. But in the last 20 years, 73 additional names have been added to these plaques. Americans serving in U.S. diplomatic missions. In other words for the first 172 years of our nation's existence, we in the Foreign Service lost a member to violent, purposeful death about every 40 years. Since I joined, we have averaged one such loss about every 90 days. These facts, listed on plaques not 50 yards from my office, are a constant reminder of the rise of terrorism in the past two decades. But this rise is not uncontested. The U.S. Government, working on its own and in coordination with friendly states, actively pursues coordinated strategies to suppress terrorism at home and abroad. Our strategy stresses practical measures to identify, track, apprehend, prosecute, and punish terrorists. Additionally, we are working to impose diplomatic, economic, and where all else fails - military burdens on states supporting terrorism.