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Talking Sense to Terrorists
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11121 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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3 / 1986 |
2,347 Words |
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David Nissen
David Nissen is a free-lance writer from Brooklyn, New York.
He has worked as a reporter and editor of the metropolitan
section o f The New York City Tribune |
His fellow police officers used to call him "Bring 'Em Out alive" Bolz. As founder and coordinator of the New York Police Departments' Hostage Program, Captain Frank Bolz was the chief negotiator in 285 crisis situations, and succeeded in rescuing more than 850 hostages without losing a single one.
His success rate, he believes, is partially due to the nature of the hostage crises he handled. "In the domestic situation, there's just me and the perpetrator. I (as the negotiator) can look stupid--it doesn't matter. The goal is just to save lives, including that of the perpetrator."
"But in the international arena," he said, "the rules are different. The perception by the world is important. The country can't be made to look foolish. The future safety of our citizens depends upon how we are perceived."
Bolz pointed out that "in local law enforcement, there is no acceptable casualty rate, while in military operations there is."
"And international terrorism is a form of warfare," he emphasized. "It is necessary to keep up U.S. image and safety in the world."
In spite of these differences between local and international considerations, however, Bolz found that there are many principles of negotiating that can and should be used on the international scene.
Consider the disastrous handling of the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich, where
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