NCJ Number
77155
Date Published
1975
Length
360 pages
Annotation
This volume contains articles which examine terrorists' use of propaganda, surveillance equipment, and knowledge of nuclear weapons to further their aims. Written for law enforcement officials and augmented with detailed descriptions of current terrorist groups, the volume also details hostage negotiation techniques and hostage syndromes and presents a methodology for assessing the terrorist threat.
Abstract
The first paper examines how propaganda is used by political extremists and how it must be understood and dealt with by police and others who work against terrorist activities. The purpose, strategic significance, mechanics, and forms of propaganda activities are examined. Propaganda is seen as the hallmark of political terrorism and is used to justify acts committed on the basis of the worthiness of a larger cause. Focusing on the criteria for successful negotiators and the format of successful negotiation strategy, another article presents scenarios and parallel actions to demonstrate some practical negotiation strategies for kidnap and hostage situations, a form of terrorist propaganda. The third article presents techniques for hostage/kidnap victims to use in order to survive captivity, plan a successful escape, and aid law enforcement personnel in the capture and prosecution of their abductors. Intended as both background information for the interested layman and for security directors, one pamphlet describes countermeasures against attack by various electronic surveillance devices. Descriptions and countermeasures for technical audio surveillance techniques and audio attack methods cover mechanical and visual/optical techniques, microphone and wire devices, free space transmitters, and telephones, among others. In another article, a discussion of the National Liberation Movement (Tupamaros) of Uruguay illustrates the activities of contemporary terrorist groups and the reasoning such groups would follow to use homemade nuclear devices to further their goals. Furthermore, a step-by-step guide for the implementation of a methodology to determine the seriousness of the terrorist threat in order to neutralize that threat is presented. Additional materials include commentaries on actual and attempted kidnappings of public figures and private citizens around the world, the activities of State legislative committees investigating terrorist activities, a reproduction and analysis of the People's Bicentennial Commission's propaganda techniques, and recommended countermeasures. Several articles include tables, footnotes, diagrams, and photographs. For the individual reports in this volume, see NCJ 76470-75. For other volumes in this series, see NCJ 77150-54.