ABSTRACT
The pursuit of cooperation requires that the United States (US) government develop a pragmatic approach to the subject of terrorism, a balanced analytical perspective that neither inflates nor minimizes the importance of the threat terrorism poses to national and international security. The US can expect the East to refrain from rhetorical denunciations of US imperialism and "state terrorism" or other comments that might be construed, however erroneously, as justification for anti-American violence. The US is the favorite target of international terrorism but suffers little violence on national territory. The situation is the reverse for many other states, including those of Western Europe and Latin America. Perhaps the most important way in which international cooperation can control terrorism and limit state support is through public exposure. Terrorism is inherently difficult to prevent because much activity is the work of small autonomous underground factions attacking targets of opportunity.
