Jihadist-Inspired Violence in the West, 2012-2016

On June 16, 2016 the CTC (Combating Terrorism Center) at West Point released a report entitled The Road to Orlando: Jihadist-Inspired Violence in the West, 2012-2016. The report analyses "47 cases of jihadist-inspired violence carried out in Western countries between January 1, 2012 and June 12, 2016." Some of the findings include that most attacks were "carried out by individuals with no direct ties to overseas terrorist groups and were low-tech and relatively ineffectual." More than half of the attacks have occurred in France or the United States and are often targeted to civilians, law enforcement, and the military. Knife attacks are the most common while shooting is the deadliest.

Mass Shootings and Terrorism Bibliographies

In the wake of yet another mass shooting several government agencies have published bibliographies for finding information about terrorism or lone wolf terrorism:

• Lone Wolf Terrorism  - A Brief Bibliography by Greta E. Marlatt, Homeland Security Digital Library 
• Mass Shootings and Terrorism, - CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report by Jennifer E. Lake, Section Research Manager, June 13, 2016 - Lists different CRS Reports that address mass murder with firearms, firearms regulation, domestic terrorism, and hate crimes. Click on the report number to view it although it might not appear to be linked.

Encryption: Selected Legal Issues

Debate has been raging about whether Apple should grant the FBI's request to provide a technological way to obtain encrypted content stored on an iPhone when legally requested. On March 3, 2016 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a new report that "provides background to the ongoing encryption debate, including a primer on encryption basics and an overview of Apple, Google, and Facebook’s new encryption policies." Entitled Encryption: Selected Legal Issues by Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney and Chris Jaikara, Analyst in Cybersecurity Policy, the authors chose to focus on two questions from the many political, economic, and legal questions being raised: 

1. Does the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination bar such a request?
2. Can the All Writs Act federal statue that "provides federal courts with residual authority to enforce its orders be interpreted broadly enough to cover compelled assistance on the part of the device and software manufacturer?"

National Security Strategy

On February 6, 2015 the White House released the latest National Security Strategy (29p. PDF). In the introduction, President Obama addresses the United States' strengths and speaks of the following challenges:

Now, at this pivotal moment, we continue to face serious challenges to our national security, even as we are working to shape the opportunities of tomorrow. Violent extremism and an evolving terrorist threat raise a persistent risk of attacks on America and our allies. Escalating challenges to cybersecurity, aggression by Russia, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and the outbreak of infectious diseases all give rise to anxieties about global security. We must be clear-eyed about these and other challenges and recognize the United States has a unique capability to mobilize and lead the international community to meet them.

For a quick overview, access Fact Sheet: The 2015 National Security Strategy http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/06/fact-sheet-2015-national-security-strategy

FDA Food Safety Proposed Rule

The FDA is proposing a rule that would "require the largest food businesses in the United States and abroad to take steps to prevent facilities from being the target of intentional attempts to contaminate the food supply." Under the proposed rule, a food facility would be "required to have a written food defense plan that addresses significant vulnerabilities in its food production process" and identify and implement strategies to address these vulnerabilities. Companies would also need to "establish monitoring procedures and corrective actions, verify that the system is working, ensure that personnel assigned to the vulnerable areas receive appropriate training and maintain certain records."

More information is available from the FDA News & Events page or from the proposed rule.

Bin Laden's Letters

The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point has released a report entitled Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined? The report studies 17 declassified letters or draft letters authored by bin Laden and other al-Qa`ida leaders obtained during the Abbottabad raid. Dated from September 2006 to April 2011, 175 pages of the letters are in original Arabic while 197 pages have been translated to English.

Remembering 9/11

For a sampling of events, reports, and multi-media information about 9/11, please see the Remembering 9/11 LibGuide .

Blog Commemorating 9/11

Starting July 5 the Homeland Security Digital Library will publish one blog a week leading up to the ten year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blogs will honor those who died by highlighting lessons learned and societal changes made to ensure another such attack does not occur. The blog schedule is:

• July 5 – Terrorism, Terrorists and Threats
  
• July 12 – The Department of Homeland Security
  
• July 19 – The 9/11 Commission Recommendations
  
• July 26 – Emergency Preparedness
  
• August 2 – Border Security and Immigration
  
• August 9 – Transportation and Travel
  
• August 16 – Freedoms and Rights
  
• August 23 – Protecting Critical Infrastructure
  
• August 30 – Communication
  
• September 6 – Commemorating 9/11

Access On the Homefront Blog entries at https://www.hsdl.org/hslog/.

Country Reports on Terrorism 2009

The State Department has released its 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism. Starting in 2004, this annual report replaced Patterns of Global Terrorism. The report "serves as a reference tool to inform policymakers, the general public, and our foreign partners about our efforts, progress, and challenges in the campaign against international terrorism."

Country Reports on Terrorism (2004-2008) and Patterns of Global Terroism (1995-2003) are also available at http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/index.htm.

Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan

On Jan. 4, 2010 the Center for a New American Security released a report entitled "Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan" which examines the relevance of the U.S. intelligence community to the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.  The report argues "that because the United States has focused the overwhelming majority of collection efforts and analytical brainpower on insurgent groups, the intelligence apparatus still finds itself unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in which U.S. and allied forces operate in and the people they are trying to protect and persuade."  The authors, Major General Michael T. Flynn, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence in Afghanistan, his advisor Captain Matt Pottinger, and Paul Batchelor, Senior Advisor for Civilian/Military Integrations at ISAF, recommend "sweeping changes to the way the intelligence community thinks about itself – from a focus on the enemy to a focus on the people of Afghanistan."

National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats

According to a December 9, 2009 White House press statement, President Obama has released his "vision for addressing the challenges from proliferation of biological weapons or their use by terrorists." His National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats focuses on seven objectives:

1. Promote global health security
2. Reinforce norms of safe and responsible conduct
3. Obtain timely and accurate insight on current and emerging risks
4. Take reasonable steps to reduce the potential for exploitation
5. Expand our capability to prevent, attribute, and apprehend
6. Communicate effectively with all stakeholders
7. Transform the international dialogue on biological threat

To find out more, see the full text of the strategy.

Biological Lab Safety

The Defense Science Board (DSB) which provides independent advice to the Secretary of Defense just released its final report about safety in DoD (Department of Defense) biological labs. When comparing DoD labs with those of similar size in government, industry, and academia, the report found that DoD labs were as good or better. The labs also exceeded recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the DSB task force also found that "a determined adversary cannot be prevented from obtaining very dangerous biological materials intended for nefarious purposes, if not from DoD laboratories, then from other sources." Therefore, the task force recommended improvements in seven areas:

Cyber Red Team (computer systems security)

Monitoring Activities

Biological Personnel Reliability Program

Overseas Regulations

Compliance Inspections

BSAT (Biological Select Agents and Toxins) Transport

Public Education and Relations

Terrorism Reports

Two new annual reports about terrorism are now available.

• The National Counterterrorism Center has made available its 2008 NCT Report on Terrorism.
• The State Department has made available its 2008 Country Reports on Terrorism. In 2004 this series replaced Patterns of Global Terroism. Previous reports including Patterns of Global Terrorism are also linked.

Response to Nuclear Detonation

Unfortunately in today's world United States public and private institutions must think about what to do in the event of a nuclear detonation. To address this topic the Homeland Security Council has just released its Planning Guide for Response to a Nuclear Detonation: First Edition targeted to emergency response planners and their leadership. The guide "addresses the unique effects and impacts of a nuclear detonation such as scale of destruction, shelter and evacuation strategies, unparalleled medical demands, management of nuclear casualties, and radiation dose management concepts." It focuses on what to do the first few days before Federal resources could be put in place.

Stability and Security in Iraq

The Department of Defense has released its Dec. 2008 quarterly report, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq. The report indicates progress toward political, security, and economic stability in Iraq. Also of interest are charts and graphs scattered throughout the publication on such topics as oil production and export, civilian deaths, U.S. deaths, weapons caches, neighborhood stability, and MoD and Mol operational readiness. Another helpful tool is a list of acronyms and abbreviations.

Previous quarterly reports are also available.

Iraq Stability and Security

The latest (Sept. 2008) quarterly report of the Department of Defense's "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" is now available. Previous editions are located at http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Iraq_Reports/index.html. Major topics covered include political stability, economic activity, security/transferring security, and Iraqi Security Forces training and performance.

Threat From Iranian Nuclear Development

On Sept. 19, 2008 the Bipartisan Policy Center (a non-profit organization established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell to provide a forum to address tough policy challenges) released a report entitled Meeting the Challenge: U.S. Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development. Not surprisingly, the report, co-chaired by former senators Daniel Coats (Republican from Indiana) and Charles Robb (Democrat from Virgina) concluded that "Iran's nuclear development may pose the most significant strategic threat to the United States during the next administration."

According to a July 10, 2008 press release, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs held a seventh hearing on Islamist radicalization and homegrown terrorism. Witnesses including Maajid Nawaz, a former leader of the United Kingdom's Hizb uut-Tahrir now working as a counterterrorist, "outlined steps that should be taken to identify, isolate and ultimately eliminate the threat of homegrown terrorism and the ideology that supports it." Committee Chairman, Joe Liberman, said, "We must better understand the roots of Islamist ideology so we can better guide our international, national and local efforts to counter its spread under its many different names, whether it is Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hizb ut-Tharir, the Muslim Brotherhood, or other splinter groups that promote the ideology."

The House also addressed this topic in its Rept. 110-384 Pt. 1, Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (Oct. 16, 2007). One of the nine points made in the report addresses who might be a terrorist: "Individuals prone to violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence span all races, ethnicities, and religious beliefs, and individuals should not be targeted based solely on race, ethnicity, or religion."

The act recommends establishing a National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Ideologically Based Violence. First among the Commission's charges is to "Examine and report upon the facts and causes of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States, including United States connections to non-United States persons and networks, violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in prison, individual or `lone wolf' violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence, and other faces of the phenomena of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence that the Commission considers important." View the latest status on the progress of the act through Congress.

Recycled Interrogation Methods

The New York Times revealed in a July 2 article entitled "China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo," that interrogation methods used by the Chinese on American prisoners of war during the Korean War were imitated by our military trainers in Guantanamo Bay. Congressional hearings have expressed concerns about using such methods. On July 26, 2007, for example, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s S. HRG. 110-257 entitled Extraordinary Rendition, Extraterritorial Detention and Treatment of Detainees: Restoring Our Moral Credibility and Strengthening Our Diplomatic Standing contains statements from Senators Biden and Feingold denouncing such techniques. Likewise Senator Leahy in the Judiciary Committee’s S.HRG. 110-299 entitled Preserving the Rule of Law in the Fight Against Terrorism, Oct. 2, 2007 denounced similar methods used in Abu Ghraib: “. . . the terrible abuses of Abu Ghraib, which stained us as a country and which were the direct results of a lack of clarity and restraint in the rules of interrogation.”

How do we as a country find an effective yet moral way to gain necessary intelligence, a method showing clarity and restraint? The Intelligence Science Board of the National Defense Intelligence College has been grappling with better ways to solicit information. Its Dec. 2006 Phase 1 report entitled Educing Information, Interrogation: Science and Art, Foundations for the Future, covers a wide variety of subjects such as evaluating intelligence detection devices, the costs and benefits of interrogation, behavior science lessons learned from educing information, and challenges in developing a new educing information paradigm.

Terrorism in the United States - Update

The FBI has released its newest report concerning terrorist activities in the United States. Terrorism 2002-2005 includes three sections for each year: terrorist incidents, terrorism preventions, and significant events. The report also makes available a Chronological Summary of Terrorist Incidents in the United States 1980-2005 as well as the following charts:

• Terrorism by Event 1980-2005
  
• Terrorist Incidents in the United States 1980-2005
  
• Terrorist Activity by Region 1980-2005
  
• Casualties of Terrorism 1980-2005

Previous reports are also available:

• 1996
  
• 1997
  
• 1998
  
• 1999
  
• 2000/2001