According to Gearty effective counter-terrorism strategy pursues two aims simultaneously. On the one hand, it must take an approach to the language of political violence that is clear and unambiguous. On the other, it requires a commitment to human rights that refuses to buckle under the pressure of appalling atrocities. The current war on terrorism is making an effective counter-terrorism strategy harder rather than easier to achieve. What is needed, Gearty thinks, is a fresh commitment to the integrity of language and the supremacy of an impartial rule of law.