Overview of International Terrorist Groups

出处：按学科分类—政治、法律 BERKSHIREPUBLISHINGGROUP《PatternsofGlobalTerrorism1985-2005：U.S.DepartmentofStateReportswithSupplementaryDocumentsandStatistics》第153页（3885字）

Anna Sabasteanski

The U.S. State Department is required by law to include in its annual report on global terrorism information on any foreign terrorist group or umbrella organization that has been responsible for the kidnapping or death of a U.S. citizen during the previous five years. The report may also include other groups that the secretary of state deems should be included. (Because these organizations pose threats to citizens of many nations, they are also referred to as “international terrorist groups.”)

To comply with this requirement, Patterns of Global Terrorism includes descriptions of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), a list of their activities, estimated strength, their location and area of operations, and whether they receive some form of external aid. Once an organization has been designated an FTO, it is unlawful for U.S. persons or any persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to provide that organization with financing or other material support, and U.S. financial institutions are required to block funds of the FTO and its agents and report that they are doing so to the Treasury Department. There may be additional sanctions as well; for example, members of FTOs may be denied visas or travel privileges to the United States. More detail on this is provided in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report “The ‘FTO List’ and Congress: Sanctioning Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” which follows.

In December 2004 there were forty FTOs. The U.S. government has dozens of other terrorist lists, including screening systems used for border security, intelligence lists, and so on, but those lists are separate and distinct from the FTO designation. The only other listing that contributes data to Patterns of Global Terrorism is that of state sponsors of terrorism (see section on State Sponsors of Terrorism in Part 1).

In addition to discussing FTOs, Patterns of Global Terrorism includes information on other groups of interest. These could be organizations that, while not posing a terrorist threat, are dangerous to the United States or its allies in some way or that may pose a threat in the future, or that are particularly newsworthy or noteworthy, as determined by the Secretary of State. Both the organizations that are designated FTOs and those considered groups of interest have changed over time; observing what groups have been considered a threat over the years provides interesting insight into the everchanging nature of terrorism.

In the 1980s, groups that are now considered forces for national liberation were reported, such as the African National Congress (ANC), which is now South Africa’s governing party. Early indicators of antiglobalization are seen in descriptions of leftist European organizations that opposed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), such as Revolutionary Organization 17 November in Greece and Action Difirecte in France. The list of Palestinian organizations refiects the ongoing chaos that remains part of Palestinian political reality and also shows the gradual rise of increasingly militant religious groups among Palestinian organizations. AlQaeda was first designated as an FTO in 1999, although it first appeared in Patterns of Global Terrorism in 1998. Today, it gets lengthy coverage.

In this section you will find a list of all organizations described in Patterns of Global Terrorism over the last twenty years. We have consolidated the full descriptions, focusing on the most recent information provided. The organizations are listed alphabetically. Use the index to crossfireference details of attacks and other mentions in the “Country Reports” (Part 3) and “Chronology” (Part 4).