Overview of Country Reports on Terrorism
出处：按学科分类—政治、法律 BERKSHIREPUBLISHINGGROUP《PatternsofGlobalTerrorism1985-2005：U.S.DepartmentofStateReportswithSupplementaryDocumentsandStatistics》第205页（9239字）
Anna Sabasteanski
From the precursor reports in the 1970s until Patterns of Global Terrorism 2004, reports on terrorism by region and country were included in the overall report along with chronological and statistical data. The intelligence reorganization that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001, established the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) that became responsible for coordinating terrorism data.
Transition from “Patterns” to “Country Reports”
In 2005 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice oversaw a revision of the structure of the State Department’s yearly report on terrorism. In its new format, the report excluded statistical information, which became the responsibility of the NCTC. The name of the report changed from Patterns of Global Terrorism to Country Reports on Terrorism. This part of the collection includes all the country reports from 1985 to 2004 and offers an overview of each of the three decades covered. The chronologies are collected in Part 4, and the statistics—including the 2004 data from NCTC—are in Part 6, “Trends over Time.”
Other State Department Reports
Country Reports on Terrorism is just one of a wide variety of country reports and other documents that are produced by the Department of State. Others include the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, lists of sovereign states and dependencies of the world, background notes on the countries of the world, and profiles of those countries.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor submits this annual report to Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. This report is delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25. It provides “a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act” (quoted from section 116(d)(1) of the FAA). Other countries are included at the discretion of the secretary of state. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices can be accessed at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt.
Lists of Independent States and Dependencies
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research maintains two lists, “Independent States in the World” and “Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty.” These lists provide both the commonly used and official names of the countries, two-let-ter country codes, and the countries’ or dependencies’ capitals or administrative centers. The independent states list also indicates whether the state has diplomatic relations with the United States and whether it is a member of the United Nations, while the list of dependencies shows what state has sovereignty over the dependency. These lists can be accessed at http://www.state.gov/s/inr/states.
Background Notes
The Electronic Information and Publications Office of the Bufireau of Public Affairs updates and revises Background Notes, publications that the State Department’s regional bureaus defivelop to provide facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states and some dependencies and areas of special sovereignty. Each country’s edition of Background Notes incorporates a link to the State Department’s country page for that country, which can be accessed by clicking on the country name. Background Notes can be accessed at http:// www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn.
Country Pages
The State Department’s under secretary for political affairs manages regional and bilateral policy issues, which are divided into six bureaus that cover Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. Each of these bureaus provides country pages as well as information about regional and country programs and policies. The CIA World Factbook, produced by the Central Intelligence Agency, provides additional country profiles that complement the State Department’s offerings. These are available online at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/index.html.
The State Department also provides country travel information, including travel warnings, consular information sheets, and public announcements. These are available online at http://www.travel.state.gov. An example appears below.
U.S.Department of State Travel Warning for Afghanistan
The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. There is an ongoing threat to kidnap and assassinate U.S. citizens and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) workers throughout the country. The ability of Afghan authorities to maintain order and ensure the security of citizens and visitors is limited. Remnants of the former Taliban regime and the terrorist al-Qaida network, and other groups hostile to the government, remain active. U.S.filed military operations continue. Travel in all areas of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, is unsafe due to military operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry among political and tribal groups, and the possibility of terrorist attacks, including attacks using vehicular or other Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and kidnapping. The security environment remains volatile and unpredictable. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 18, 2005. There is a potential risk for violence during the election period.
A number of attacks on international organizations, international aid workers, and foreign interests have occurred throughout the country since the beginning of 2005. Foreigners in Kabul and elsewhere throughout the country were targeted for violent attacks and kidnappings. In March, a Canadian diplomatic vehicle was damaged by an improvised explosive device (IED) while traveling on a main highway outside Kabul. That month a British NGO worker was shot to death in downtown Kabul after leaving a restaurant known to be popular with foreigners. In April a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in Kabul for a short time but managed to escape from his abductors.
The month of May witnessed several attempted kidnappings of foreigners in Kabul, including a group of World Bank employees. Kidnappers were successful in abducting an Italian citizen working for CARE International from her car in a downtown Kabul neighborhood popular with foreign residents. A foreign UN worker was injured in a grenade attack on an Internet café in downtown Kabul at the beginning of the month. Violent demonstrations in multiple locations throughout Afghanistan resulted in significant damage to the offices of international organizations and other foreign interests, and the death of 19 Afghans. Attacks on Afghan workers affiliated with international organizations occurred throughout the country, sometimes resulting in fatalities. There have been multiple rocket attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan, including a rocket that hit the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) compound near the Embassy in late May.
Family members of official Americans assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul are not allowed to reside in Afghanistan. In addition, unofficial travel to Afghanistan by U.S. Government employees and their family members requires prior approval by the Department of State. From time to time, the U.S. Embassy places areas frequented by foreigners off limits to its personnel depending on current security conditions. Potential target areas include key national or international government establishments, international organizations and other locations with expatriate personnel, and public areas popular with the expatriate community. Private U.S. citizens are strongly urged to heed these restrictions as well and may obtain the latest information by calling the U.S. Embassy in Kabul or consulting the embassy website below. Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, bombings, assassinations, carjackings, rocket attacks, assaults or kidnappings. Possible threats include conventional weapons such as explosive devices or nonconventional weapons, including chemical or biological agents.
The United States Embassy cannot provide visa services, and its ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is limited. Afghan authorities also can provide only limited assistance to U.S. citizens facing difficulties.
June 09, 2005