Anti-terrorism Assistance Program

Background

The Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) Program was initiated in 1983 as a means of providing specialized training and equipment to nations facing terrorist threats. Though not a traditional military training program , it nonetheless does teach foreign military and police personnel lethal tactics among other skills. The program has provided training and assistance to over 19,000 law enforcement personnel from 104 countries.

The State Department uses the following criteria to qualify countries for equipment and training assistance:

• The country or region is categorized as critical or high threat for terrorism and can not adequately protect US facilities and personnel in the country (i.e., official, business, tourism);
• The country is served by a U.S. air carrier or is the last point of departure for flights to the US
• There are no important bilateral policy interests which may be supported through the provision of antiterrorism assistance.

Training provided under the ATA program seeks to address deficiencies as determined by the State Department in any of five major areas:

The ability to:

• Protect national borders
• Protect vital installations
• Protect national leadership
• Respond to and resolve a terrorist incident
• Conduct and manage a post-terrorism investigation

Resources