Nixon's Counterterrorism Policies - Essay Example

It also looked into the implementation of these activities effectively. It consisted of the Secretary 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 Assistant to the President for National Security affairs (Crenshaw n.p.). Two incidents which triggered the formation of this committee took place in the early 1970’s which led to the development of the modern counterterrorism policies.

One occurred at the Munich Olympics in September 1972 by the Black September Organization, killing approximately 11 Israeli athletes. Another case of terrorism conducted by the same organization occurred in the form of kidnapping which took place in Khartoum and the immediate assassination of US Ambassador and his Deputy Chief Commission 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 Nixon’s policy. . By the time it got down to Clinton, he ensured his policies stood out from his predecessors.

Another aim was to reduce 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’ resentment 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 defeat of the Fatah-led Palestinians gave rise to the emergence of the organization of Black September which split away from PLO by its own choice 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 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 implemented 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 Reagan’s administration in 1984 strongly condemning any act of terrorism stating that such activities would not be tolerated by the United States (Crenshaw 2005).

Nixon employed several steps as a move towards counterterrorism which