Overview of U.S. Policies in Combating Terrorism
出处：按学科分类—政治、法律 BERKSHIREPUBLISHINGGROUP《PatternsofGlobalTerrorism1985-2005：U.S.DepartmentofStateReportswithSupplementaryDocumentsandStatistics》第4页（4310字）
Anna Sabasteanski
U.S. counterterrorism policy includes military, political, diplomatic, economic, and public-policy measures. Prior to the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S. policy was based on a threepronged strategy that is common to much of the international community: first, make no deals with terrorists and do not submit to blackmail; second, treat terrorists as criminals, pursue them aggressively, and apply the rule of law; and third, apply maximum pressure on states that sponsor and support terrorists by imposing economic, diplomatic, and political sanctions and by urging other states to do likewise. After the bombings, a fourth prong was added: bolster the counterterrorism capabilities of those countries that work with the United States and require assistance.
PDD-62 and PDD-63
Two important elements in U.S. counterterrorism policy are presidential decision directives (PDDs) that President Clinton signed in May 1998.The first, PDD-62, addressed the growing threat of unconventional attacks against the United States (attacks not by other states but by so-called nonstate actors—terrorists) and detailed a new, more systematic approach to fighting that threat. It codified and clarified the activities of the many U.S. agencies that participate in the battle against terrorism, activities that include apprehending and prosecuting terrorists, increasing transportation security, enhancing response capabilities, and protecting the United States’ cyber infrastructure, which is critical for the functioning of the economy. PDD-62 also established the position of the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counterterrorism to oversee the relevant policies and programs.
The second, PDD-63, was aimed at protecting the United States’ telecommunications, banking and finance, energy, transportation, and essential government services infrastructures. It required the government to conduct risk assessments and begin planning to reduce the vulnerability of those infrastructures to attack, and it linked designated federal agencies with representatives in the private sector.
Active Response to the August 1998 Embassy Bombings
The U.S. response to the African embassy bombings shows well how counterterrorism efforts can embrace both military and nonmilitary tactics.With the knowledge that al-Qaeda was responsible for the embassy bombings, the U.S. government launched military strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan (two countries known to harbor al-Qaeda and to permit al-Qaeda to operate training camps in their territory) on 20 August 1998.That same day, President Bill Clinton amended Executive Order 12947 to add Osama bin Laden and his key associates to the list of terrorists, thus freezing their U.S. assets (including property and bank accounts) and prohibiting all U.S. financial transactions with them. (First issued in 1995, Executive Order 12947 prohibits transactions with terrorists and contains a list of the terrorists so designated.This executive order is frequently modified to add additional names and categories.)
As a result of what the attorney general Janet Reno called the most extensive overseas criminal investigation in U.S. history, and working closely with the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, the U.S. government indicted bin Ladin and eleven of his associates for the two bombings and other terrorist crimes. Several suspects were brought to the United States to stand trial.The Department of State announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any of the suspects anywhere in the world.
The next major changes in policy followed the terrorist attacks of September 11. Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001 included a complete section on U.S. policy. The extracts that follow are the remarks of Secretary of State Colin Powell and of Ambassador-at-Large Francis X. Taylor (the U.S. Department of State’s coordinator for counterterrorism), which served as the preface and introduction to Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001.