Nixon's Counterterrorism Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nixons Counterterrorism Policies - Essay ExampleIt also looked into the implementation of these activities effectively. It consisted of the secretarial assistant of State, Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Treasury, the Ambassador of the United Nations, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, director of the Central Intelligence Agency and henchman to the prexy for National Security affairs (Crenshaw n.p.). Two incidents which triggered the formation of this committee took place in the early on 1970s which led to the development of the modern counterterrorism policies. One occurred at the Munich Olympics in September 1972 by the morose September Organization, killing approximately 11 Israeli athletes. Another contingency of terrorism conducted by the very(prenominal) organization occurred in the form of kidnapping which took place in Khartoum and the immediate assassination of US Ambassador and his Deputy Chief C ommission along with a Belgian diplomat (Naftali 33). This was the ultimate case which convinced President Nixon to take strong action against terrorism. The tangible threats to the US national security were the main focus of Nixons policy. ... By the time it got down to Clinton, he ensured his policies stood out from his predecessors. Another aim was to load the tension in the Middle East between the Israeli and Arab world. Nixon had assigned the responsibilities of counterterrorism to his old friend William Roger (Alexander xix). Arabs were in a natural conflict with the United States for its support for the Israel cause. Ever since the Six Day War of 1967, the Palestinians bile grew stronger and they took wild measures in the form of terrorist acts. The case of Jordan in 1970 was one of great concern for the Western world. The scourge of the Fatah-led Palestinians gave rise to the emergence of the organization of Black September which split away from PLO by its own survival of the fittest and continued to involve in radical acts across the globe. The main concern while fighting against these terrorists forces for the US was the elaborate network which could capture their Embassy in Jordan. The US paratroopers were brought to alert positions and seize the International Airport if necessary. This was the first off lesson they got in dealing with the terrorists (Naftali 54). The presidents were pressurized to maintain their complete attention on the issue of terrorism. Although they did their best, their resolutions and initiatives were never entirely apply by the concerned bureaucracies. In 1981 the call to establish a clearinghouse of intelligence by Vice President George H.W. Bush went unheard. The National Security Decision Directive 138 was issued by Reagans administration in 1984 strongly condemning any act of terrorism stating that such activities would not be tolerated by the United States (Crenshaw 2005). Nixon sedulous several steps as a mov e towards counterterrorism which