Bureau of Counterterrorism
Seal of the United States Department of State
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| Bureau overview | |
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| Preceding bureau |
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| Jurisdiction | Executive branch of the United States |
| Employees | Approx. 120 (As of 2012[update]) |
| Annual budget | $288.5 million (FY 2011) |
| Bureau executive | |
| Parent department | U.S. Department of State |
| Website | www |
The Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT) is a bureau of the United States Department of State. It coordinates all U.S. Government efforts to improve counter-terrorism cooperation with foreign governments and participates in the development, coordination, and implementation of American counterterrorism policy.
In June 2007, Ambassador-at-Large Dell Dailey was appointed to be the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Under Secretary Clinton, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism from 2009 to 2012 was Ambassador-at-Large Daniel Benjamin. He was followed by Tina S. Kaidanow, from 2014 to 2016. The current Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism is Justin H. Siberell.
Originally the Office for Combating Terrorism and later the Bureau of Counterterrorism, the bureau's name was expanded in 2016 to include countering violent extremism in its mandate.
The United States Counterterrorism Policy has four main aims:
Regarding international terrorism, the U.S. Government will make no concessions to individuals or groups holding official or private U.S. citizens hostage. The United States will use every appropriate resource to gain the safe return of American citizens held hostage. At the same time, it is U.S. Government policy to deny hostage takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner releases, policy changes, or other acts of concession.
An Office for Combatting Terrorism was created in the State Department in 1972 after the Munich Olympics terrorist attack. Its name and legal authorization has changed a few times, and it was renamed the Bureau of Counterterrorism in 2012.
In reaction to the State Department's 2004 proposal to omit terrorism figures from its Report to Congress, Larry C. Johnson stated that the State department was put in charge of coordinating counter-terrorism functions across government agencies by a presidential directive in 1986. Johnson wrote:
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