that the ultimate objective of all of the parties is a comprehensive settlement of the problem. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR RIBICOFF Chairman RIBICOFF. Thank you very much. Today's world has a serious terrorist problem. Recently, we have seen people willing to risk their own lives for political aims. We are the hostages. We who believe in democracy and progressive social change are being threatened. Today a desperate person can seize an airplane or a powerplant or a building and demand that the world conform to his desires. We in the United States have been relatively lucky so far. But we have no reason for complacency. No international flight is taken today without some apprehension. Some of our West European partners live today with posters everywhere and armed guards around public places and prominent leaders. The terrorist now is a threat to our basic values. And the level of our technology gives him the means to wreak havoc upon a society which does not protect itself. Frankly, we're here today to protect ourselves. I wish this set of hearings was not necessary. I've been a U.S. Senator for 15 years. Most of the hearings I've attended have sought social or economic progress. Unfortunately, today we have to spend some time examining how to control or prevent evil. I am convinced that the United States can face the growing problem of terrorism with confidence. The American people see hijacking and assassinations and cold violence, and they are outraged. They want to know who is in charge. And they want to see some leadership stand up and say that we need not let terrorists bend our country all out of shape. The purpose of these hearings is to help the United States face terrorism before we have to react to terrorism. We must understand the modern terrorist, who he is or she is, and why the terrorist lives his destructive life. We must be organized as a Government and a society to thwart the terrorist and to protect every individual. We must staff whatever organization we have with experts at all levels to manage terrorism with flexibility and firmness. We must be prepared to deal with an unknown array of threats. And we must be prepared as a country to deny the terrorist the subversion of our free society. This last point is the most difficult. We have to take our gloves off and fight within the law in order to protect the rule of law. There is no way to have all the answers to all contingencies. But the American people are looking for reassurance that we can cope with the unexpected. It's no longer enough to say that our bureaucracy has a terrorism officer or that a secret "P.R.M. 30" exists and we should rest assured. If our citizens are going to be asked to persevere in time of crisis, they have a right to know that we are prepared for crisis. On the international level, other countries operate unsafe airports which endanger the American traveler. Some countries train, equip, and provide safe haven to guerillas. Some use diplomatic facilities to support this activity. It's time that we join with other countries in striking back at the promotion of terrorism. Those who would tolerate terrorists have no reason to expect the tolerance of the civilized world. The legislation pending before the committee, S. 2236, combines diplomatic initiatives with strong unilateral U.S. policy to combat terrorism. The thrust of this legislation is to ensure that we have an adequate structure to handle terrorist problems as they arise and to assure the citizens of this Nation that our handling of terrorist incidents will be with a firm hand. Further, it is the intent of this legislation that the United States take swift and direct action against any country which aids terrorist acts. It is an outrage and even unthinkable that the civilized world could tolerate the practices of some nations whose governments directly support terrorist activities against innocent citizens. The United States must lead the world comunity in our response and preparedness for such actions. I am very pleased that some extremely impressive witnesses have agreed to help us in these hearings. During the next few days we will have a chance to learn about various aspects of the terrorist threat. From their testimony, we will be better able to shape this particular legislation and to face this problem with greater confidence. We are honored to have as the leadoff witness our distinguished Secretary of State. Mr. Vance has been hard at work on one of our main foreign policy problems-and one not unrelated to the business before us today. I understand, Mr. Vance, that you arrived in Washington from the Middle East only last night. You have the gratitude of this committee by appearing before us today. We are most eager to hear your testimony. Senator Heinz, Senator Glenn, Senator Hodges, do you have an opening statement? OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HEINZ Senator HEINZ. I have a brief opening statement, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary, let me just say briefly, I welcome these hearings. I want to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for taking the lead in this area, and for beginning this examination of your legislation, S. 2236, the Omnibus Antiterrorism Act. I think these hearings are particularly important because they represent an impressive effort on the part of Congress to deal comprehensively with what is becoming an increasingly important and difficult problem. Although improved U.S. security measures in the past few years have resulted in a decrease in the number of domestic hijackings, on the whole terrorist incidents, including those on the rise, involving Americans, are notably bombings and assassinations. In 1977, there were dramatic incidents such as the Lufthansa incident, which ended in Somalia, and the terrorist attack on industrialist Hans-Martin Schleyer. Each such incident promotes new incidents and tests security and uneven commitment to solving the problem multiply those cases into a situation that is rapidly becoming unmanageable. The American people clearly share this view. A Harris poll last year showed broad support for a tough antiterrorism poley, including awe of she w visions in this bill. S. 2936 Mr. Chairman. I would also like to point out thes show Aur have a special interest for me, as it was 1 year ago this wood thart introduced one of the first pieces of legislation in this Cegem to deal with the problem of terrorism. I am pleased to see some of the elements of that bill, which arcompt to impose meaningful sanctions against countries which aid or whe terrorism, have been included in S. 2236, which we are discussing in these hearings, although the latter is more comprehensive. That very comprehensiveness, while making the bill a better vehicle for a broad-based approach to the parameters of terrorist motivity, raises questions that the committee will want to answer. Although there should be no question that all Senators should support the bill's objectives, certain details will be the subject of debate. The committee should think carefully whether the reorganization mandated in the legislation is the most appropriate for an effective antiterrorism policy or whether the bill effectively structures the relationship between Congress and the executive branch in admin istering the list of nations which aid or abet terrorism. In addition to this close analysis of what is in the bill, I hope the committee will also think carefully about some of the things which are not in it. For example, about the effects and the role of the media in publicizing terrorist incidents while they are happening, what responsibility the Federal Government has to provide training in counterterrorist tactics for both our own defense and for that of other nations; whether policies or negotiations with terrorists and pay ment of ransom should be clearly articulated or developed on an ad hoc basis: whether there should be an effort to coordinate Kederal policy with that of local governments, or that of private companies; and what role the intelligence community should play in a compre hensive antiterrorism policy. Mr. Chairman. I wouldn't want you or anybody else to believe that I have the seven to all of these questions about what is in the billy or what is rising from it. But I do have wme thunghte which expect to ofe from "me to time aa me proced. The resure if one efore will. I bode, re the cratica, di u falçak, hensive run for dealing with térrim q. & wond» de Vanva Such & Brug a meme and I on ganun you. Me Cha.#tah, for your work me far ʼn sex *2*6*. Thank yo support this activity. It's time that we join with other countries in striking back at the promotion of terrorism. Those who would tolerate terrorists have no reason to expect the tolerance of the civilized world. The legislation pending before the committee, S. 2236, combines diplomatic initiatives with strong unilateral U.S. policy to combat terrorism. The thrust of this legislation is to ensure that we have an adequate structure to handle terrorist problems as they arise and to assure the citizens of this Nation that our handling of terrorist incidents will be with a firm hand. Further, it is the intent of this legislation that the United States take swift and direct action against any country which aids terrorist acts. It is an outrage and even unthinkable that the civilized world could tolerate the practices of some nations whose governments directly support terrorist activities against innocent citizens. The United States must lead the world comunity in our response and preparedness for such actions. I am very pleased that some extremely impressive witnesses have agreed to help us in these hearings. During the next few days we will have a chance to learn about various aspects of the terrorist threat. From their testimony, we will be better able to shape this particular legislation and to face this problem with greater confidence. We are honored to have as the leadoff witness our distinguished Secretary of State. Mr. Vance has been hard at work on one of our main foreign policy problems-and one not unrelated to the business before us today. I understand, Mr. Vance, that you arrived in Washington from the Middle East only last night. You have the gratitude of this committee by appearing before us today. We are most eager to hear your testimony. Senator Heinz, Senator Glenn, Senator Hodges, do you have an opening statement? OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HEINZ Senator HEINZ. I have a brief opening statement, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary, let me just say briefly, I welcome these hearings. I want to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for taking the lead in this area, and for beginning this examination of your legislation, S. 2236, the Omnibus Antiterrorism Act. I think these hearings are particularly important because they represent an impressive effort on the part of Congress to deal comprehensively with what is becoming an increasingly important and difficult problem. Although improved U.S. security measures in the past few years have resulted in a decrease in the number of domestic hijackings, on the whole terrorist incidents, including those on the rise, involving Americans, are notably bombings and assassinations. In 1977, there were dramatic incidents such as the Lufthansa incident, which ended in Somalia, and the terrorist attack on industrialist Hans-Martin Schleyer. Each such incident promotes new incidents and tests security and uneven commitment to solving the problem multiply those cases into a situation that is rapidly becoming unmanageable. The American people clearly share this view. A Harris poll last year showed broad support for a tough antiterrorism policy, including some of the provisions in this bill, S. 2236. Mr. Chairman, I would also like to point out that these hearings have a special interest for me, as it was 1 year ago this week that I introduced one of the first pieces of legislation in this Congress to deal with the problem of terrorism. I am pleased to see some of the elements of that bill, which attempt to impose meaningful sanctions against countries which aid or abet terrorism, have been included in S. 2236, which we are discussing in these hearings, although the latter is more comprehensive. That very comprehensiveness, while making the bill a better vehicle for a broad-based approach to the parameters of terrorist activity, raises questions that the committee will want to answer. Although there should be no question that all Senators should support the bill's objectives, certain details will be the subject of debate. The committee should think carefully whether the reorganization mandated in the legislation is the most appropriate for an effective antiterrorism policy or whether the bill effectively structures the relationship between Congress and the executive branch in administering the list of nations which aid or abet terrorism. In addition to this close analysis of what is in the bill, I hope the committee will also think carefully about some of the things which are not in it. For example, about the effects and the role of the media in publicizing terrorist incidents while they are happening, what responsibility the Federal Government has to provide training in counterterrorist tactics for both our own defense and for that of other nations; whether policies or negotiations with terrorists and payment of ransom should be clearly articulated or developed on an ad hoc basis; whether there should be an effort to coordinate Federal policy with that of local governments, or that of private companies; and what role the intelligence community should play in a comprehensive antiterrorism policy. Mr. Chairman, I wouldn't want you or anybody else to believe that I have the answers to all of these questions about what is in the bill, or what is missing from it. But I do have some thoughts which I expect to offer from time to time as we proceed. The results of our efforts will, I hope, be the creation of a comprehensive strategy for dealing with terrorism on a worldwide basis. Such a strategy is overdue, and I congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, for your work thus far in seeking to develop it. Thank you. Chairman RIBICOFF. You may proceed, Mr. Secretary. STATEMENT OF CYRUS R. VANCE, SECRETARY OF STATE, AND HEYWARD ISHAM, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF COMBATING TERRORISM, DEPARTMENT OF STATE Secretary VANCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee: I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss a subject of greatest concern and urgency: how to defend our citizens and our national interests against threats of terrorism around the world. Congress and the ad |