SERVARE VITAS- Political Consequences for Romanian National Government and Military of Hostage Deaths in a Romanian Special Operations Forces Hostage Rescue Operation

Humankind conflicts reached a point where the use of terrorism continues to be viewed as an acceptable and valuable instrument to pursue political goals. Because of the fact that the Romanian forces have encountered little action in the terrorism arena, one can say that the Romanian counter-terrorism and anti-terrorism arrangements within the law enforcement and military are immature. This paper attempts to shed light upon the current crisis management procedures and how that arrangement can affect the effectiveness of the state response in hostage situation crises both in country and abroad. The paper analyzes five hostage rescue operations, conducted by German, British, Peruvian, and Russian forces, and focuses on three critical procedures that lead to hostage deaths security measures, negotiations, and handling the media. The analysis exposes that the effectiveness of these procedures will minimize the civilian casualties and will act as prerequisites for successful hostage rescue operations. In the light of the case studies results, a general-based model provides the Romanian authorities with critical tasks faced by either military or law enforcements assets that are required in order to accomplish rescue operations. The project concludes with a number of suggestions for immediate and long-term alleviation of current development problems faced by Romanian Special Operations Forces.