◆ SpookStack

Approved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RDP96-00788R000100330001-5 SPECIAL EDITION -- TERRORISM -- 26 JUNE 1984 USA TODAY 5 June 1984 Pg. 2B Book on counterterrorists draws flak In the early 1970s, Michael Korda, who personally Korda, editor in chief of Simon bought George Jonas’ Ven- & Schuster Inc., complained geance for Simon & Schuster, is that he was “suffering from an at the eye of the storm over overdose of anonymity.” He whether the book is the factual sought remedy in writing books account it claims to be. and articles. Vengeance centers on a man Now, a rash-of publicity sur- known only as Avner who al- rounding the controversial _legedly led an Israeli team of publication of Vengeance: The _counterterrorists in a plot to True Story of an Israeli hunt down and kill the Arab Counter-terrorist Team, should terrorists responsible for plan- cure Korda once and for all. ning the massacre of 11 Israeli The U.S. Government Response to Terrorism: Irr Search of an Effective Strategy by Di. William Regis Farell Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1982, 142 pages. $20.00 This excellent book is probably the best account available on how the U.S. government has institutionally responded to the growing problem of terrorism. As the reader readils discovers, doing something about terrorism is far more difh- colt than understanding or explaining it. Dr, William Far- ret} seeks to determine to what extent the lack of a U.S antilerrorist strate is due to the structure and functions of existing U.S. governmental agencies. He begins by discuss- ing the challenge policymakers face in simply defining th: nature and scope of terrorism. Perceptions of what terrorism isoris not are manifold. Of particular interest to readers 1s 2 chapter that examines the legal, political, and sociological concerns of military involvement in terrorist incidents. Despite its intractable nature. governments must deal with terrorism. However, responding actively to terrorism can induce a host of concerns, external and internal. 1 government bureaucracies (particularly in democratic socie: test. Inthe US. government meeting the lerrorist threat can involve over 30 government agencies, raising jurisdictions: disputes over who is authorized to do what. This probftem : exacerbated by the fact that terrorism is not a primar responsibility of any agency. Consequently. antiterrorist measures do not compete well for talent and resources within the governmentor the individual agencies, U.S. anu: athletes at the Munich Olym- pics in 1972. Rinker Buck, the reporter who took the story to Simon & _ ply isn’t an answer.” Schuster, told The Wall Street Journal that Avner’s counter- terrorist story could not be sub- AIR UNIVERSITY REVIEW March-April 1984 Pg. 113 terrorist effort within the bureaucracy is maintained for the most part because some officials recognize terrortsm as 4 worldwide threat and because the United States is involve episodicalls in terrorist incidents. D1. Farrel) bas done an outstanding job of tacking down and documenting the interdepartmental! process by which U.S. policy is formulated and implemented. He identifies the major organizational players and delineates their ant- terrorist responsibilities. He also shows that there are major obstacles inherent in the structure of the policymaking pro- cess and the established functions of the participating agen- cies which make the future emergence of such a strates. unlikely. This prognosis appears confirmed by the presen: administration. which has publicly given the problem of terrorism high priority but has not made any substantis¢ changes to the existing interdepartmental structure. The U.S. Government Response to Terrorism is for the serious reader. There are no dramatic descriptions of terror- ist exploits or international intrigue. Instead. the author has painstakingly researched the “process” and noted its capa- bilines and imitations. While the book tends to focus on the U.S. bureaucratic structure. many of the challenges anc difficulties apply to bureacracies in general. For those in government who are a part of this interdepartmental struc- ture. this work is a must Lieutenant Colonel Richard Porter. USAF Washington, DC Approved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RBP96-00788R000100330001-5 ... The only question is, ‘Is Avner the man who headed the team?’ And to that there sim- Korda openly admits, how- ever, that controversy never hurt book sales and that he ex- pects Vengeance to go into a Buck said he became “com- second: printing. pletely convinced it was a fraud” and quit the project. But, says Korda, “Buck sim- ply did not do his homework. _ ing,” he says. “You have to publish what you think you should publish, and this is a story worth tell-