The Conflict

The "standard" anti-terror response, honed during the era of aircraft hijacking, and hostage taking, was to calm the situation and negotiate for hostage releases or to use commando forces to raid terrorists holed up in aircraft, buildings, or outposts. This had questionable relevance, however, to the new terrorist strategies of the 1990s, in which anonymous acts of violence were staged without efforts to negotiate grievances or offer hostage releases. Military remedies in fighting terrorism are problematic for a number of reasons, including definitional and legal uncertainties about what one is fighting against, as well as tactical problems.

Political

• There is no standard definition of terrorism. The United Nations, however, has upheld notions that targeting civilians with indiscriminate violence are unacceptable and that terrorists should be apprehended, extradited, or prosecuted.
• It is difficult to gather consensus on conditions under which certain...