Based on the premise that existing research into terrorism shows great promise, this paper notes that, despite widespread recognition of terrorism's communicative dimensions, few studies have been done from within the discipline of speech communication. The paper defines the discipline of speech communication and rhetorical studies, reviews the few existing rhetorical studies of terrorism, and goes on to show the ways in which a rhetorical perspective would alter and improve research carried out from other perspectives. The paper concludes that the rhetorical perspective has much to offer the future interdisciplinary study of terrorist phenomena. A 119-item bibliography of basic sources in rhetoric and the rhetorical dimensions of terrorism is attached. (Author/SR)