Country Reports on Terrorism
Encyclopedia
Country Reports on Terrorism is an annual report published by the United States Department of State
. In 2005 it replaced the Patterns of Global Terrorism
report, which had been released since 1985.
The report is published in accordance with Title 22, Section 2656(f) of the United States Code
, which requires the Secretary of State
to submit to Congress
an annual report on terrorism
.
and Iraq
, and the statistics on terrorism were lower than outsiders thought they should have been.
In response to this criticism, the State Department released a revised report in June 2004, correcting most of the errors; however, this was not enough to stop some critics from saying the State Department had deliberately left out information showing failures in the War on Terror
.
When it came time to release the PoGT for 2004 in April 2005, the State Department announced it was getting rid of that report and replacing it with the Country Reports on Terrorism. The official reason was that the old method of gathering data was outdated and the new report featured a better collection of information.
However, a separate report http://www.tkb.org/documents/Downloads/NCTC_Report.pdf released by the National Counter Terrorism Center gave a chronology
of "significant terrorist events," something not featured in the Country Reports. That report said there were 651 "significant" attacks in 2004, which left 1,907 people killed and around 8,000 wounded. These figures were the highest in 21 years of compiled data on terrorism.
The National Counter Terrorism Center Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 included a Statistical Annex http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/65489.pdf. According to the Statistical Annex, there were 11,111 terrorist attacks in 2005 of which 3,474 occurred in Iraq
and 489 occurred in Afghanistan
.
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. In 2005 it replaced the Patterns of Global Terrorism
Patterns of Global Terrorism
Patterns of Global Terrorism was a report published each year on or before April 30 by the United States Department of State. It has since been renamed Country Reports on Terrorism...
report, which had been released since 1985.
The report is published in accordance with Title 22, Section 2656(f) of the United States Code
United States Code
The Code of Laws of the United States of America is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States...
, which requires the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
to submit to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
an annual report on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
.
History
When the Patterns of Global Terrorism report for 2003 was released in April 2004, many errors were noted within it. The report did not list all the attacks considered to be terrorism that year, including major bombings in IstanbulIstanbul bombings
Istanbul bombings may refer to:*1999 Istanbul bombings*2003 Istanbul bombings*2008 Istanbul bombings*2010 Istanbul bomb blast...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and the statistics on terrorism were lower than outsiders thought they should have been.
In response to this criticism, the State Department released a revised report in June 2004, correcting most of the errors; however, this was not enough to stop some critics from saying the State Department had deliberately left out information showing failures in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
When it came time to release the PoGT for 2004 in April 2005, the State Department announced it was getting rid of that report and replacing it with the Country Reports on Terrorism. The official reason was that the old method of gathering data was outdated and the new report featured a better collection of information.
Summary
The Country Reports on Terrorism does not provide any statistics on terrorism like its predecessor. It simply has several chapters dealing with a country and any progress it has made in fighting the War on Terrorism.However, a separate report http://www.tkb.org/documents/Downloads/NCTC_Report.pdf released by the National Counter Terrorism Center gave a chronology
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of "significant terrorist events," something not featured in the Country Reports. That report said there were 651 "significant" attacks in 2004, which left 1,907 people killed and around 8,000 wounded. These figures were the highest in 21 years of compiled data on terrorism.
The National Counter Terrorism Center Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 included a Statistical Annex http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/65489.pdf. According to the Statistical Annex, there were 11,111 terrorist attacks in 2005 of which 3,474 occurred in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and 489 occurred in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
External links
- Chronology of Significant International Terrorist Incidents - NCTC
- Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 Statistical Annex - State Department
- Terror threat to U.S. called 'significant' - CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Terrorism Reports Risk Assessment Reports - terrorSURE