Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy

Next week, the State Department will release its annual report on terrorism around the world. A new book out next month from the Brookings Institution explores U.S. policy on terrorism and whether the United States is doing enough to combat it.

Paul Pillar, the book’s author and the former deputy chief of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, will be featured at this briefing to discuss the hard line that America takes against international terrorism. Official counterterrorist policy requires the United States to refuse deals with terrorists, isolate and put pressure on states that sponsor terrorism, and bolster the counterterrorist capabilities of countries willing to work with the United States. The briefing will explore whether these policies are sufficient.

An expert panel—including a former director of the CIA—will address the following issues:

What kind of terrorist threats is the United States facing today?
Does the “no deal” policy actually deter terrorist acts?
Are there cases where deals or concessions might reduce terrorism, while advancing other U.S. interests?
Do isolation and pressure really force offending states to alter their support for terrorists?
What factors affect the willingness, as well as the capability, of foreign governments to help the United States pursue counterterrorism efforts?

Patrick L. Clawson
Director for Research, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

John Parachini
Executive Director, Washington Office, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies

Paul R. Pillar
Former Deputy Chief, Counterterrorist Center,
Central Intelligence Agency;
Author, Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy

R. James Woolsey
Former Director of Central Intelligence;
Partner, Shea & Gardner