Activities that: involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any State; appear to be intended: to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping; and occur totally outside the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum. (From: U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 36, Subchapter 1, Sec. 1801: Definitions). Combating terrorism activities within the Department are divided into four components: antiterrorism, counterterrorism, terrorism consequence management, and intelligence support to combating terrorism. Antiterrorism involves all defensive measures employed to protect personnel and facilities against a terrorist incident. Conversely, counterterrorism refers to offensive response measures to deter, preempt and resolve a terrorist act. Terrorism consequence management includes a range of activities required to provide emergency assistance to mitigate the effects of an act in order to alleviate damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused by terrorist attacks and to protect the public health and safety and restore essential government services. The accumulation and dissemination of intelligence is critical to our success across all these components. (From" "DoD and Combating Terrorism" testimony of ASD Brian Sheridan, before Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services, US Senate, 24 Mar 2000)