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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
US International Terrorism Reports

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

The UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice completed its eight-day session with the adoption of the "Bangkok Declaration", promising to increase cooperation in information sharing, extradition, mutual legal assistance and other areas, especially related to money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime and the financing of international terrorism.
http://www.11uncongress.org/main/main1.htm
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/soccp336.doc.htm

More scientific data is revealing the accelerating effects of global climate change. Researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and US Geological Survey (USGS) analyzed aerial photos from 1940 onward to study the historical climate records. They report that over the last 50 years 87 percent of 244 glaciers studied have retreated, and that average retreat rates have accelerated. Another study analyzing satellite data reveals that more energy is being absorbed from the sun than is emitted back to space, throwing the Earth's energy out of balance and warming the globe.
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/News_and_Information/Press_Releases/story.php?id=163
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/apr/HQ_05111_Earth_Energy.html

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2. Africa

Burundi rebels of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) says they will not stop fighting until government troops stop attacking them. The former rebel group Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) has withdrawn from the power-sharing government after a ministerial selection policy undertaken in the 2003 peace accord was not completed. Some 20 political parties have refused to accept the revised electoral calendar that has elections taking place in phases to be completed in September.

Cameroon student protests against school fees and for improved facilities turned violent. Clashes with soldiers killed two students.

Democratic Republic of Congo Mayi-Mayi militiamen took five journalists hostage but after five days released them in exchange for 270 bicycles.

Equatorial Guinea's opposition leader and coup plotter Severo Moto had been reported missing but turned up alive in Zagreb, Croatia. Following purported assassination attempts, he has now returned to his home in Spain, where he believes he is being targeted by Spanish secret services.

Ivory Coast will permit opposition leader and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara to run in October's presidential elections. Ethnic clashes in a western cocoa town killed two immigrants and a third town person and injured several others.

Liberians have started to register for elections to be held in October. Among those running for president will be Sekou Conneh, leader of the main rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

In southeast Nigeria, ethnic fighting between the Ukelle and the Izzi triggered by a land dispute killed more than 50 people.

Sudan has received the first contingent of UN peacekeepers, will get double the number of African Union troops, and may receive further support from NATO. The peacekeepers are monitoring the truce between southern rebels and the government. Meanwhile, Darfur has seen an upsurge in attacks, including a "burnt earth" policy designed to terrorize refugees from returning home. Darfur peace talks are expected to resume in May.

Togo has been the scene of large-scale violence following disputed presidential elections that led to the declaration that Faure Gnassingbe, son of the late ruler, was the winner. About a hundred people have been killed and thousands fled the violence. Calm is being restored and a West African delegation is visiting to help mediate between the government and the opposition.

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3. Americas

Brazil's Macuxi tribesmen have released four police officers kidnapped last week in protest at the creation of the Raposa Serra Do Sol indigenous reservation. The release was secured after the government promised to improve living conditions, including access to electricity and education.

Colombian rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have stepped up attacks in the southwest, leading to a new government plan to improve military cooperation with regional joint commands. Four top army generals disagreed with the changes and have been dismissed.

Haiti has begun voter registration despite continued violent demonstrations and gang violence. On April 28, police opened fire on demonstrators, who were demanding former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's return, and killed five.

Mexican President Vincente Fox dismissed the attorney general who attempted to bring Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to trial. The popular official returned to work to popular acclaim and now seems well positioned to run for president next year.

The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held hearings on the Patriot Act. Passed in October 2001, it contains a number of "sunset" provisions due to expire at the end of the year. These include the most controversial aspects of surveillance, secret access to personal information, and similar provisions. Among recent disclosures is the finding that court-authorized secret wiretaps jumped by 19 percent last year.
http://intelligence.senate.gov/0504hrg/050427/witness.htm

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4. Asia Pacific

Australians and New Zealanders gathered in the tens of thousands to mark the 90th anniversary of the World War I Gallipoli landings in which more than 100,000 soldiers, mostly Turkish, died in the eight-month campaign in April 1915.

China is hosting a visit from Taiwanese opposition leader Lien Chan. Mr. Lien favors a democratic China, with which Taiwan could be united. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, favoring formal independence, has called on the Chinese government to engage in talks with him, the leader elected by the people of Taiwan.

China ruled that the next chief executive of Hong Kong (currently interim leader Donald Tsang) will serve the final two years of former leader Tung Chee-hwa term, rather than a full 5-year term.

East Timor and Australia have agreed on terms for Timor Sea gas and oil resources. In a breakthrough policy shift, Australia has agreed to pay East Timor a percentage of revenues rather than a fixed fee. The agreement will be finalized later in May.

Japan is investigating reports that North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile. North Korea already has long-range missiles and last week testimony in the US Senate alleged that these missiles could now be armed with a nuclear device, a report that has been downplayed by the US administration.
http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=1483

Thailand marked the anniversary of a series of attacks on police checkpoints in the south that culminated in the siege of Krue Se mosque in Pattani. 32 people were killed in the mosque and a total of 113 people were left dead on April 28. A report on the Krue Siege mosque killings found that the police could have succeeded with negotiations but instead used excessive force. A second report, also released just before the Krue Se anniversary, the death of 78 Muslim demonstrators who died in police custody, was attributed to police negligence. The anniversary passed peacefully but violence in the south has not diminished. More than 600 people have been killed since January 2004.

Vietnam marked the 30th anniversary, on April 30, of the fall of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, with fireworks and a military parade. The UN refugee agency highlighted a refugee success story.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home?page=news
The US National Intelligence Council released "Estimative Products on Vietnam 1948-1975", a collection of declassified documents on the war and war veterans gathered at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC to pay tribute to their fallen comrades.
http://www.cia.gov/nic/NIC_foia_vietnam.html

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5. Europe

Two Belgians were repatriated from the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The former detainees were charged with belonging to a criminal organization but released pending investigation.

Georgia and Russia are close to an agreement on the closure of two Russian military bases in Georgia and will establish a timetable for removal of 7,000 troops and military equipment.

Ireland's government will establish a Commission of Investigation to examine the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 in which 33 people were killed. The inquiry will focus on the police investigation at the time of the attacks, for which no one has ever been convicted.
http://www.taoiseach.ie/index.asp?locID=199&docID=1954

Italy and the US reached different conclusions from a joint investigation into the killing of Nicola Calipari, the Italian secret service agent who freed journalist Giuliana Sgrena held hostage in Iraq. The US exonerated the US troops that fired on Calipari's car and killed him. Italy refused to endorse that finding and is continuing with an independent forensic analysis. The situation has caused public outrage in Italy, strained relations between the two countries, and increased pressure for Italian troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Russian President Putin' annual address to the nation described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century". The aftermath left many Russians outside of their country and had other consequences, including economic and security issues.

A shootout in the North Caucasus killed four gunmen believed associated with the Islamic militant group Yarmuk, and one policeman.

President Putin visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first time any Russian leader has been to the area. He proposed a greater role for Russia in the peace process, a suggestion that was welcomed by Palestinians but met skepticism elsewhere.

Spanish police raided five cities in operations against the neo-Nazi group Blood and Honor, seizing paraphernalia and equipment, and arresting 21.

British elections have been dominated with the Iraq war following release of the attorney general's legal advice and a leaked memo suggesting Prime Minister Blair had been looking for ways to justify war in Iraq eight months before the conflict.
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page7445.asp
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html

British Muslims from more than 50 Islamic organizations have marched in the hundreds to protest anti-terror legislation that has disproportionately affected their community.

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6. Middle East

In Egypt, a suicide bomber and two veiled women shooters attacked tourists near the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The three attackers died and at least ten people were injured.

Palestinian authorities in Gaza arrested two al-Aqsa Brigades militants in connection with rocket attacks against Jewish settlements. Israeli settlers have protested the planned withdrawal, now scheduled for August.

Iraq's parliament approved a partial cabinet, although several key posts have not been filled. These political measures continue slowly against an increasingly violent backdrop, including member of parliament Lamia Abed Khadouri being shot dead at her home. US General Richard Myers said the coalition is winning but acknowledges that militant attacks are at the level of last year, with 50-60 attacks each day. A barrage of more than a dozen car bombs in Baghdad on Friday killed at least 50 and injured more than 100

Lebanon has confirmed elections will be held on May 29, meeting the constitutional deadline. The government has replaced several pro-Syrian officials.

Syria and Iraq are restoring diplomatic ties that were severed in 1982 after Syria supported Iran.

Syrian intelligence agents and military forces have withdrawn from Lebanon. A UN team is verifying that the withdrawal is complete.

In Yeman,, a hand grenade missed its target and killed a passerby instead. Police killed the attacker, who may have been linked to the ongoing rebellion in the northwest.

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7. South Asia

Afghan police, on alert after last Sunday's car bombing in Kabul, stopped an explosives-laden car at a Herat checkpoint and arrested the driver, believed to be planning a suicide attack. A Taliban attack in Kandahar killed four attackers, targeting the mayor's office, and two police. In Uruzgan province a US soldier on patrol was killed in a Taliban ambush, and a US air strike killed three civilians and four militants. In Helmand province, four police were killed in a Taliban ambush, and clashes between Afghan troops and police killed six. Despite the outbreak of violence coinciding with the spring thaw, voter registration has opened for parliamentary and local elections scheduled for September.

Bangladesh is investigating an attack against its embassy in Kuwait, that was stormed by around 800 Bangladeshi workers apparently angry at not having been paid.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, clashes with troops killed six suspected militants.

Nepal's King Gyanendra has lifted the state of emergency. There has been no move to restore democracy and arrests continue. Maoist rebels have withdrawn their threat to bomb private schools.

Sri Lankan journalist Sharmaretnam Sivaram, a supporter of the Tamil Tiger rebels, has been kidnapped and shot dead in the capital, Colombo. The Tigers blame Sri Lankan military intelligence and rival Tiger paramilitaries, but responsibility for the attack is unknown.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

The Australian Tax Office has discovered high levels of identity theft, increasing from about 14 percent of tax fraud in 2002-3 to more than 30 percent today.
http://www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.asp?doc=/content/57719.htm

Zone-H 2004 statistics on web server attacks and defacements have been released, demonstrating growth of 36 percent with nearly 400,000 incidents.
http://www.zone-h.org/news/read/id=4457/

Researchers at Toshiba Research Europe Ltd in Cambridge have identified a "robust and user-friendly way to use quantum cryptography to detect unauthorized eavesdropping, as well as distribute secret keys, on optical fiber networks. As a result of this innovation, quantum cryptography could now be used in commercial networks. The first beneficiaries are likely to be banks and other large corporations with sensitive information".
http://www.toshiba-europe.com/research/crl/QIG/pressreleases.html

Netcraft launched an anti-phishing toolbar system at the start of 2005 and is now making available the list of phishing sites reported by the Toolbar community t as a continuously updated feed.
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2005/04/27/netcraft_phishing_site_feed_available.html

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9. Finance

The US Treasury identified 30 companies and four individuals linked to Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer and war profiteer under an Executive Order which targets family members and associates of former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor.
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/20050426.shtml
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2406.htm
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/0426_bout_designation_chart.pdf

Syria has acceded to the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The US Post Office has issued a security notice regarding the rising fraud in counterfeit postal money orders.
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/moalert.htm

Real DECREE 54/2005, modifies prevention of money laundering measures to incorporate customer identification requirements.
http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2005-01-22/pdfs/A02573-02583.pdf

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced its approval of the proposal filed by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to acquire Riggs National Corporation, Washington, D.C., and its subsidiary bank, Riggs Bank National Association, McLean, Virginia. Riggs value dropped precipitately after serious negligence in suspicious activity reporting was identified.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/orders/2005/200504262/default.htm

US banking, thrift and credit union regulatory agencies and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network jointly issued interpretive guidance on "Providing Banking Services to Money Services Businesses Operating in the United States".
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2005/fil3205.html

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10. Human Rights

The UN Economic and Social Council elected members for 2005, including the reelection of Zimbabwe. The poor human rights record of many countries in the human rights body has led Secretary General Annan to recommend the commission be replaced by a smaller human rights council and warns that its declining credibility harms the UN's reputation as a whole.
http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/members.html
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14053&Cr=commission&Cr1=rights

Save the Children launched a new report "Forgotten Casualties of War: Girls in Armed Conflict". It identifies a "hidden army" of girls as young as eight, who are abducted against their will to live life in the army in roles ranging from being actual soldiers through to serving as porters, cleaners, cooks, slaves or "wives". This is a global trend, but examples include:

New figures from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics demonstrate that the US still has more citizens in prison than in any other country, with one in 138 people in jail, a total of more than 2.1 million.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/pjim04pr.htm

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance published "Turning up the Heat: The Decline of Press Freedom in Australia 2001-2005" finding that anti-terror legislation, changes in information laws, and other measures have tipped too heavily towards security and have begun to threaten democratic values.
http://www.alliance.org.au/

With sufficient funding in place, the UN and Cambodia special court to try former Khmer Rouge leaders will begin operations.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has developed an online teaching tool for rural communities.
http://www.fao.org/sd/erp/ERPtktoolkit_en.htm
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/101962/index.html

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Mohamed Achraf's appeal against extradition was rejected by the Swiss Supreme Court. He has arrived in Spain, where he is wanted on suspicion of directing a radical Islamic cell and planning to bomb the National Court in Madrid.

Hasan Akbar, a former US army sergeant, was convicted for the murder of two officers and attempted murder of 14 other colleagues during the invasion of Iraq, when he attacked them with stun grenades and a rifle. He has been sentenced to death.

Said al-Maghrebi and another suspected al Qaeda militant have been arrested in France where they are suspected of recruiting jihadist volunteers for Iraq.

Aftab Ahmed Ansari was convicted in Indian court of planning the 2002 attack against the US cultural center in Calcutta in which five police were killed and 20 injured. He and six other men have been sentenced to death for the attack. Their sentences will be appealed. Two others were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Zayead Christopher Hajaig ("Barry John Felton") was released on bail in the UK. US authorities consider him a fugitive, and want him on weapons and immigration charges.

Hemant Lakhani of London was convicted in a Newark, New Jersey court of attempting to support terrorism after trying to sell a shoulder-launched missile to an undercover FBI agent. He was convicted of charges including illegal weapons brokering, money laundering and using false documents, and faces up to 25 years inn prison.

Mika Muhimana, a former town councilman in Rwanda, was sentenced to life in prison by the UN tribunal for his role in the 1994 genocide, in which he was convicted of more rapes than any other suspect.

Bashir Noorzai, one of the world's most wanted heroin traffickers, has been arrested in New York.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/Press%20Releases/April05/Noorzai%20Indictment%20PR.pdf

Boulenouar Oukil, leader of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in Algeria, has been arrested by security forces.

Ali al-Timimi, an Islamic scholar, was convicted in a Virginia court of encouraging Muslims to join the Taliban and fight US troops.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/04/TimimiINDC092304.pdf

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12. Transportation

The US Transportation Security Administration has begun the second phase of the Airport Access Control Pilot Program to test advanced access control technologies including a variety of biometrics and RFID.
http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44&content=090005198011d563

China's Port of Shanghai has become the 36th operational port to join the Container Security Initiative (CSI) for shipment prescreening.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/04282005.xml

Importers enrolled in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) have established a voluntary program of security criteria. These efforts were described as a way to prevent supply chains from being used to carry out terrorist attacks.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/criteria_importers/
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/commissioner/speeches_statements/apr21_2005_miami.xml

The new Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will begin patrols in June. They will be assisted by the navy, and will coordinate activities in the Malacca Straits with Indonesia.

Discussions at the European Commission are underway to consider transferring International Maritime Organization powers, and those of other transport bodies, from member countries to the Commission.
http://www.chamber-of-shipping.com/index/news-app/story.310

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin enforcing the driver identification requirements of the Trade Act of 2002.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/04252005.xml

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear power plant safety review meeting included participants from all countries with nuclear power plants. They discussed information sharing and increased precautions to make sure there won't be a repetition of a Chernobyl-type disaster.
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Conventions/nukesafety.html

The Iraq Survey Group updated its December report to for consistency of Arabic names, correction of grammatical errors, deleting redundant statements and rewording awkward statements for clarity. In the Procurement chapter of the section "Possible Breaches on UN Sanctions by Danish Companies" was deleted because the said equipment was transferred prior to the imposition of sanctions. An accompanying note from chief weapons inspector Charles Duelfer said reports of WMD transfers to Syria had been examined and no evidence of such transfers was found.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd_2004/note.html

The Ukraine has agreed to cooperate with the US to detect illegal nuclear and radiological smuggling. Latvia and the US agreed to collaborate in nonproliferation and threat reduction activities.
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/

The Seventh Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be held in New York, May 2-27. Note the MCIS CNS NPT Briefing Book (April 2005 Edition)
http://cns.miis.edu/research/npt/briefingbook_2005/index.htm

Niue has signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.

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14. Recently Published

Council of Europe, "Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights - The rights guaranteed and the protection mechanism (Human Rights Files No. 1)", Council of Europe Publishing.
http://book.coe.int/sysmodules/RBS_page/admin/redirect.php?id=36&lang=EN&produit_aliasid=1886

Dasquie Guillaume, "Al-Qa'ida vaincra", Editions Prive
http://www.decitre.fr/service/search/fiche_detail/-/ean-9782350760353/index.dhtml

David Hambling, "Weapons Grade: How Modern Warfare Gave Birth to Our High-Tech World", Carroll and Graf

Bradley K. Martin, "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader", Thomas Dunne

National Research Council, "Effects of Earth-Penetrator and Other Weapons", National Academies Press.
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309096731/html

Richard Lloyd Parry, "In the Time of Madness" Jonathan Cape

Naim Qassem, "Hizbullah: The Story from Within", Saqi Books (in the US in July)

Jeffrey Taylor, "Angry Wind" Houghton Mifflin

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FEATURE ARTICLE: US International Terrorism Reports

The US Congress requires that the Secretary of State provide annual country reports on terrorism each year, no later than April 30. The report must provide detailed assessments of countries in which international terrorist acts of major significance occurred, relevant information about terrorist groups, intergovernmental cooperation, international counterterrorism efforts, and foreign support of terrorist activities.

In compliance with this law, the State Department published "Patterns of Global Terrorism" beginning with a review of 1985:

The report analyzed state support, types of targets, regional patterns, details by country, victims, incidents, and a chronology of attacks. The narrative material and the statistical analysis made this report the benchmark for understanding and analyzing international terrorism.

This methodology and format persisted for nearly 20 years, but problems surfaced last year, when the 2003 report undercounted the number of incidents, forcing a revision of the report. This year the report for 2004 will include only the country reports. Statistical data will be provided separately by the new National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).

This controversial decision has been explained as a technical or bureaucratic measure, explained in a State Department briefing in this way:
"In July 2004, the 9/11 Commission recommended creation of a National Counterterrorism Center to provide an authoritative agency for all-source analysis of global terrorism.... The President implemented the recommendation by Executive Order in August. And the agency was created by statute in December 2004, in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which is Public Law 108-458.... [The law] said the NCTC was the primary organization for analysis and integration of ... 'All intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to terrorism or counterterrorism.' The law further stated that the NCTC would be the United States Government's 'shared knowledge bank on known and suspected terrorists and international terror groups, as well as their goals, strategies, capabilities, and networks of contact and support.' Therefore, given that statutory mandate, the State Department has focused its own report to Congress on the issues in its mandate, renamed Country Reports on Terrorism: Assessing Countries and Providing Information on Terrorist Groups, which we are still statutorily required to do. And it is deferred to the National Counterterrorism Center to assume its prescribed role as the 'shared knowledge bank' for data on global terrorism".

Given a fourfold increase in significant attacks - an all-time high - political maneuvering is also suspected of having a role in eliminating the statistical data from the State Department report. Irrespective of the motive, there are consequences to this action. First, the State Department no longer provides the single definitive report on international terrorism. More difficult, since NCTC uses a different statistical method, it will be difficult to monitor the year-to-year trends. Please note that the NCTC report cited in this article is an interim report; a final version is expected later in the year.

With that in the background, let's take a look at the State Department's "Country Reports on Terrorism" and the National Counterterrorism Center's "Chronology of Significant International Terrorism" for 2004.

The overview begins, "Terrorism remains a global threat from which no nation is immune. Despite ongoing improvements in U.S. homeland security, our campaigns against insurgents and terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, and deepening counterterrorism cooperation among the nations of the world, international terrorism continued to pose a significant threat to the United States and its partners in 2004. The slaughter of hundreds of innocents in the Beslan school, in the commuter trains of Madrid, on a Philippines ferry, and in a Sinai resort proved again that the struggle against terrorism is far from over. Over the long run, the spread of democracy and economic and social reform, sustained and encouraged by the United States and others, should promote political, economic and social conditions inhospitable to terrorist exploitation. For now, however, the tasks confronting the United States and its partners in the struggle against terrorism remain formidable".

The report goes on to review international cooperation in security and law enforcement. It cites a decrease in the threat from state-sponsored terrorism. Iraq has been removed from the list of state sponsors; Libya and Sudan took steps to cooperate; only Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and Iran are still listed. It cites al Qaeda as the primary terrorist threat to the US, but says that its strength has been degraded through arrests and ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As Country Reports was released, the NCTC presented "current 2004 terrorist incident data that is compiled using the old statutory criteria, the old counting rules and past practices". John Brennan, the Acting Director of NCTC, explained measures taken to address the problems seen last year, including additional staff, quality assurance, and process changes, including a new methodology. Brennan said, "this increase in the number of incidents being reported today does not necessarily mean that there has been a growth in actual terrorist incidents. [T]he data you will see today represent a break from previous years, and the numbers can't be compared to previous years in any meaningful way". He then provided examples of these problems, such as analysis of state sponsored terrorism, attacks in Kashmir and Afghanistan, and definitions of "significant attacks" and of international terrorism. Because international terrorism is defined in the statute of involving citizens or territory of more than one country, some very large attacks did not meet this definition and are not included in the Chronology. As in prior years, acts of political violence, hate crimes and similar acts are not included, but a more comprehensive report is planned later this year.

In 2003, the numbers of attacks classified in Patterns of Global Terrorism as "significant" was 175. There were a total of 208 attacks that killed 625 people. That was a 21-year high. This year, NCTC reports 651 significant attacks, with 1,907 deaths.

Further Reading:

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