Definition of Antiterrorism

Counter-terrorism or counterterrorism refers to the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, and other groups adopt in order to fight terrorism. Counterterrorism is not specific to any one field or organization; rather, it involves entities from all levels of society. For instance, businesses have security plans and sometimes share commercial data with the government. Local police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel (often called "first responders") have plans for dealing with terrorist attacks.  Armies conduct combat operations against terrorists, often using special forces. Building a counterterrorism plan involves all segments of a society or many government agencies. Because propaganda and indoctrination lie at the core of terrorism, understanding their profile and functions increases the ability to counter terrorism more effectively.