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1 1 (August 18, 2017)

handle is hein.crs/govcfzw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' riE S- .$ri ,, - i August 18, 2017 State Department Country Report on Terrorism: 2001-2016 Trends By April 30 of each year, the Secretary of State is required by law to provide Congress a Country Report on Terrorism. According to 22 U.S.C. §2656f, the report must contain detailed assessments with respect to each foreign country in which acts of international terrorism occurred, which were, in the opinion of the Secretary, of major significance. While the report does not speak to the effectiveness of U.S. counterterrorism strategies, policies, or operations, it does offer a perspective of general trends of global casualties resulting from terrorist attacks. By law, the Country Report on Terrorism must include * an examination of foreign counterterrorism efforts; * any judicial responses of foreign countries regarding terrorism affecting American citizens or facilities; * a list of countries that support terrorist groups; * an assessment of countries in which terrorists operate, including actions taken by those governments; * a report on terrorism-related deaths, injuries, and kidnappings; * a strategy for addressing terrorist sanctuaries; and * an analysis of international terrorism trends. For a violent act to be designated as terrorism and included in the report, it must meet all of the following criteria: * the attack was aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal; the attack demonstrated evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) other than the immediate victims; and * the attack was conducted outside the precepts of International Humanitarian Law insofar as it targeted noncombatants. The report defines casualties as people killed and injured, but does not specify the criteria used to determine whether casualties directly resulted from terrorist attacks. Casualty figures include perpetrator(s), when applicable. Over the past 16 years, several different entities have been responsible for Country Report on Terrorism data collection. From 2001 to 2004, it was largely the responsibility of the State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism. After it was established in 2004, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) assumed this responsibility and contributed data to the reports with the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) to collect data for the Country Reports using its unclassified Global Terrorism Database (GTD). GTD statistics are derived from open-source reporting and are available on START's website. The trends contained in this In Focus begin with the year 2001 due to the post-9/1 1 increased interest in the findings contained in the country reports. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, reporting requirements for the country reports changed. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) mandated assessments of countries with territory being used as terrorist sanctuary, and the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (P.L. 108-487) required a report on terrorist groups that possess or are attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Although the statutory requirements have not changed since 2004, the reports have been adapted to include information on more recent phenomena, such as online recruitment by terrorist groups. Data for 2001 reflect many casualties from the September 11 attacks in the United States. Over the next two years, attacks and casualties decreased. The 2002 report cited a decline in bombings of U.S.-protected oil pipelines in Colombia as an example of what the State Department assessed was a decrease in anti-U.S. attacks. In 2003, the State Department reported a low of 1,900 terrorism-related casualties (see Figure 1). The period between 2004 and 2006, characterized by heavy fighting and increased violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, was associated with a steep increase in casualties. During this time, many viewed Al Qaeda (AQ) as a primary threat to international security. According to the State Department, after suffering losses in 2003, AQ focused on spreading its ideology to other countries and establishing affiliate groups. In doing so, AQ transitioned to guerilla terrorism and used propaganda to brand AQ as a sort of global insurgency, according to the State Department. The 2005 country report indicated an increase in suicide bombings, of which there was a marked increase in Afghanistan, and a concentration of terrorist attacks in Iraq (30% of worldwide attacks). In 2006, the State Department noted that AQ's misinformation and propaganda efforts accelerated through its focus on propaganda warfare. In 2007, the State Department reported a then-record high of 66,995 terrorism-related casualties. Trends in 2007 included continued AQ activity, including its guerilla terrorism strategy and affiliations with regional groups. That year, nearly 43% and 13% of attacks occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively. After 2007, attacks followed .O 'T gognpo ggo\ , q g 's a X

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