The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism is an office of the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

. It coordinates all U.S. Government efforts to improve counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

 cooperation with foreign governments and participates in the development, coordination, and implementation of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 counterterrorism policy. In June 2007, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Coordinator for Counterterrorism

The Coordinator for Counterterrorism heads the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism.-List of Coordinators for Combating Terrorism:-External links:**...

 was appointed to be Ambassador at Large Dell Dailey. Under Secretary Clinton, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Coordinator for Counterterrorism

The Coordinator for Counterterrorism heads the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism.-List of Coordinators for Combating Terrorism:-External links:**...

 is now the Ambassador-at-Large

Ambassador-at-large

An ambassador-at-large is a Diplomat of the highest rank or a Minister who is accredited to represent his country internationally.Unlike an ambassador-in-residence who is usually limited to a country and/or embassy, the ambassador-at-large is entrusted to operate in several usually neighboring...

 Daniel Benjamin

Daniel Benjamin

Ambassador-at-large Daniel Benjamin is the coordinator for counterterrorism at the United States Department of State appointed by Secretary Clinton.-Life:He was a 1983 Marshall Scholar at New College, Oxford where he studied for BA in PPE....

.

Aims

The United States Counterterrorism Policy has four main aims:

• to make no concessions to terrorists and strike no deals;
• to bring terrorists to justice for their crimes;
• to isolate and apply pressure on states that sponsor terrorism to force them to change their behavior; and
• to bolster the counter-terrorism capabilities of those countries that work with the U.S. and require assistance.

Regarding international terrorism, the U.S. Government will make no concessions to individuals or groups holding official or private U.S. citizens hostage

Hostage

A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...

. 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

Ransom

Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...

, prisoner releases

Prisoner exchange

A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...

, policy changes, or other acts of concession.

History

In reaction to the State Department's 2004 proposal to omit terrorism figures from its Report to Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, Larry C. Johnson

Larry C. Johnson

Larry C. Johnson is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who moved subsequently in 1989 to the U.S. Department of State, where he served four years as the deputy director for transportation security, antiterrorism assistance training, and special operations in the State...

 wrote "Terrorism: Why the Numbers Matter". Johnson reviews the history of the counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

 functions at the State Department and establishes it as a reaction by the Reagan Administration

Reagan Administration

The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....

 putting L. Paul Bremer

L. Paul Bremer

Lewis Paul "Jerry" Bremer III is an American diplomat. He is most notable for being the U.S. Administrator to Iraq charged with overseeing the country's occupation after the 2003 invasion. In his role as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, he reported primarily to the U.S. Secretary of...

 as the first operational Director.

Johnson wrote: