Overview of the Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents 1961–2005

出处：按学科分类—政治、法律 BERKSHIREPUBLISHINGGROUP《PatternsofGlobalTerrorism1985-2005：U.S.DepartmentofStateReportswithSupplementaryDocumentsandStatistics》第727页（5949字）

Anna Sabasteanski

Various U.S. government departments have monitored terrorist activities for many years, but the practice of reporting significant attacks began as a research project at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the 1970s and gradually shifted to the Department of State in the 1980s.Although the State Department is the governmental department responsible for preparing the yearly report on terrorism, it gets information from other departments, including overseas posts and bureaus that provide country-specific data. Formerly the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center (CTC) was responsible for maintaining the database of international terrorist-related information; that task was later given to the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC),which in December 2004 was superseded by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). NCTC uses the information in the database for analysis, and the database provides the material that is evaluated for inclusion in the Department of State reports.

Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f(d), the law that established the requirement for an annual report on terrorism, defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience” but does not define what makes a terrorist attack significant.

The secretary of state makes this determination. As the process has evolved, criteria have been developed based on casualties and financial impact. Today, an incident is included if it involves significant loss of life; abduction, kidnapping, or serious injury to people; and major property damage in excess of $10,000. A failed attack may also be considered significant if it is deemed likely that it could have led to similar casualties, incidents, or damage. That definition still leaves room for interpretation, and a committee of experts is involved in conducting the annual evaluation. A detailed description of this process can be found in the Department of State inspector general’s Review of the Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism—2003 Report.

The National Counterterrorism Center was established by executive order to take the place of the TTIC following recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. According to the executive order issued on 27 August 2004 (http://www. whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-5.html), The NCTC has the following responsibilities:

(a) serve as the primary organization in the United States Government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism, excepting purely domestic counterterrorism information.The Center may, consistent with applicable law, receive, retain, and disseminate information from any Federal, State, or local government, or other source necessary to fulfill its responsibilities concerning the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and agencies authorized to conduct counterterrorism activities may query Center data for any information to assist in their respective responsibilities;

(b) conduct strategic operational planning for counterterrorism activities, integrating all instruments of national power, including diplomatic, financial, military, intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement activities within and among agencies;

(c) assign operational responsibilities to lead agencies for counterterrorism activities that are consistent with applicable law and that support strategic plans to counter terrorism. The Center shall ensure that agencies have access to and receive intelligence needed to accomplish their assigned activities.The Center shall not direct the execution of operations. Agencies shall inform the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council of any objections to designations and assignments made by the Center in the planning and coordination of counterterrorism activities;

(d) serve as the central and shared knowledge bank on known and suspected terrorists and international terror groups, as well as their goals, strategies, capabilities, and networks of contacts and support; and

(e) ensure that agencies, as appropriate, have access to and receive all-source intelligence support needed to execute their counterterrorism plans or perform independent, alternative analysis.

In 2005, the NCTC took over responsibility for producing the annual reports that used to be included in Patterns of Global Terrorism, which was replaced with Country Reports on Terrorism. This change is covered in depth in the section of this collection that covers terrorism in the new millennium.

An NCTC database is available to the public through the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism’s “Terrorism Knowledge Base,” which includes data from the RAND Terrorism Chronology, 1968-1997, from the RANDMIPT terrorism incident database (1998-present); from the terrorism indictment database of the University of Arkansas, and from DFI International’s research on terrorist organizations. The NCTC’s Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS) is a searchable database that can be accessed at http://www.tkb.org/.

This section includes significant incidents listed in the Department of State’s summary for the years prior to 1985, the complete chronologies included in Patterns of Global Terrorism from 1985 to 2003, and the NCTC’s A Chronology of Significant International Terrorism for 2004. Additional incidents that occurred in the first half of 2005 have been collated from the TerrorismCentral Newsletter.