This article analyzes how both state and nonstate actors in the Middle East have used terrorism as a policy instrument to attain specific political objectives. The author presents a formula for measuring the utility of terrorism with respect to several important variables. The seventeen-day clash between Israel and Hizballah in April 1996 is accorded special attention because of the virtually exclusive reliance on terrorism by both sides.

Gary C. Gambill is a graduate student at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and former assistant editor of the Arab Studies Journal. He is currently the director ofAmericans for a Free Lebanon, a volunteer organization based in Washington.