U.S. Policy on Terrorism

Abstract

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE|Alan Makovsky was a Middle East expert working at the US Department of State, where he was an intelligence analyst with responsibility for Palestinian affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Prior to taking that assignment he worked for three years as State Department specialist in Turkish and Greek affairs. In those capacities he has lectured on subjects ranging from US-Turkish relations to Middle Eastern terrorism.

SUMMARY| Mr. Makovsky's primary goal was to argue that the Administration's policy on not dealing with terrorists is intact. He reviewed the major terrorist groups and especially the relationship of Dr. George Habesh and Yassir Arafat and how their competition and contrasting goals and tactics contribute to the incidence of terrorism. He also reviewed data on the targets and the locations of terrorist action, showing two-thirds directed against Arabs and only one percent actually occurring within the US. He did note that some US citizens abroad could increasingly become targets. This observation led him to describe the recommendations of the Inman Commission for embassy security and justifications for the economic and military sanctioning of Libya.