38 Section 3 International Terrorism
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1 General Situation
1 In his “National Strategy for Counterterrorism” released in June 2011, President Obama noted that the preeminent security threat to the United States continue to be Al-Qaeda and its affiliates and adherents, and clarified that their eventual defeat was the ultimate objective. He laid out a policy of pursuing the ultimate defeat of Al-Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater.
2 U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI), “Worldwide Threat Assessment” (February 2011). 3 A statement made by Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), at the hearing of the Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
(February 9, 2011). 4 Remarks made by a senior Obama Administration official at a press briefing on the killing of Osama Bin Laden (May 2, 2011). 5 United States “Country Reports on Terrorism 2009” (August 2010).
In January 2009 Al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY) and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) merged to become Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and announced it on their website.
6 “Worldwide Threat Assessment” by DNI (February 2011). Out of various affiliates of Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been enhancing its new recruitment activities through such measures as launching a new English organizational journal, “Inspire,” on the Internet in June 2010.
7 “Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somalia,” a Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate (January 21, 2010).
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2 Terrorist Attacks around the World
-8 While there is no clear definition of the term, they are referred to in the United States as those who have lived primarily inside the United States and commit acts of violence in furtherance of objectives promoted by a foreign terrorist organization, but who act without direction from a foreign terrorist organization (Statement of Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, at committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the U.S. Senate, September 22, 2010).
9 “American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat,” the U.S. Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (December 7, 2010). The report lists 21 cases of homegrown terrorist plots and attacks in the eight-year period between September 2001 and April 2009.
10 Statement of Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, at the committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the United States Senate (September 22, 2010). -1 “Worldwide Threat Assessment” by DNI (February 2011).
2 A statement by Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan on ABC TV (January 3, 2010). 3 “Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” United States (August 2010). 4 An Islamic extremist organization established in Algeria in 1998 as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). It then changed the name to the current one after it officially
joined Al-Qaeda in September 2006. 5 Activities of the anti-government extremist Islamic groups that were active in Algeria in the 1990s have largely subsided. 6 “Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” United States (August 2010). 7 “Country Reports on Terrorism 2009,” United States (August 2010). 8 Joint statements made by the Philippine government and the MILF on February 10, 2011, and by the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines on February
21, 2011, respectively (issued by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process of the Philippines ).
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40 Section 3 International Terrorism
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
20102009200820072006
8,733
8,629
5,811
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
20102009200820072006
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
20102009200820072006
3,913
3,906
4,105
Middle East
• More than 80% in Iraq and Afghanistan • Continuously increasing in Afghanistan • Decreasing in Iraq since 2006 at its peak • Increasing in Yemen since 2008
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Russia accounts for 40 to 60% Worldwide
Asia and Oceania
• Increasing in Pakistan since 2007 • Decreasing in Thailand since 2007
at its peak
Africa
Somalia has accounted for more than 40% since 2007 (More than 60% in 2010)
North, Central, and South America
Columbia accounts for 80%
Europe and the former Soviet Union
(704 incidents, 6.1%)
Asia and Oceania (2,951 incidents, 25.5%)
North, Central, and South America
(340 incidents, 2.9%) Africa
Note: Created based on the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center database.
Fig. I-1-3-1 Number of Terrorism Incidents by Region
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