Countering International Terrorism: Introduction
20. Terrorism is a difficult and complex problem and our response to it is wide-ranging and comprehensive. To help the public understand this issue better, we are setting out in this paper an explanation both of the threat that we face and what we are doing to deal with it.
21. In doing so, we will look at the action being taken to prevent the radicalisation which can lead to terrorism, action to pursue terrorists and those who sponsor them, as well as what is being done to protect the public and deal with terrorist incidents. At intervals there are boxes of text giving more information about specific issues or examples of specific actions that have been taken in order to deliver our counter-terrorism strategy. (These actions are a selection from the full range of current counter-terrorist activities, not all of which could be included here.) The paper also looks at the issues of risk, the likelihood that a terrorist incident will happen and the potential severity of its impact, and of vulnerability, the susceptibility to a particular type of attack.
22. Our strategy for dealing with terrorism has evolved over many years in the light of experience. For example, it incorporates the lessons from dealing with Irish terrorism over some 30 years. It was renewed following the 9/11 attacks in the USA, when the aim and framework described below were developed and increased resources for countering terrorism were agreed, and it was looked at again following the 7 July 2005 attacks. The range of policies, plans, and programmes described below will continue to be developed as necessary in future.
23. Terrorism is an international phenomenon which takes many forms. The Government's strategy is informed by, and has informed, the counter-terrorism strategies of a number of other countries, with whom the UK has close links and a wide range of co-operation.
24. Our strategy comprises both open elements, which can be freely publicised and discussed, and classified elements, which are kept secret. There have to be such secret elements, in order to avoid alerting the terrorists themselves either to capabilities we possess for countering their purposes or to vulnerabilities which they could exploit. Consequently, although we have tried to explain as much to the public as we safely can, this paper gives only a partial account of our counter-terrorist strategy and omits those aspects which have to be kept secret.
