TerrorismCentral Newsletter Archive
For the year 2002
For the year 2007 | For the year 2006
For the year 2005 | For the year 2004 | For the year 2003
For the week ending January 5, 2003
Welcome to the annual Year in Review issue, featuring the key events of 2002.
A printed version of the complete 2002 collection of all 52 weeks of news reviews and articles will be available later this month. Email for details.
For the week ending December 29, 2002
This last issue of 2002 we review the news highlights around the world where this week?s elections in Kenya seem poised to lead to the first peaceful change in power in that country?s history. This gives us a chance to review Africa?s ?Big Men? in this week?s feature article.
Next week, watch for the annual review of terrorism and political violence around the globe.
For the week ending December 22, 2002
This week we wrap up the theme of identity and the balance between privacy (human rights) and safety (collective security) with a discussion of current and emerging technologies that can help mitigate these risks.
For the week ending December 15, 2002
This week we return to the theme of identity and the balance between privacy (human rights) and safety (collective security) with an article on ?Human Rights and Privacy Threats, What?s Next?? This article and other coverage in the News Highlights honors International Human Rights Day (December 10).
For the week ending December 08, 2002
Last week we honored World AIDS Day with a feature on the progression of this epidemic and its impact on global security. This week we return to the theme identity and the balance between privacy (human rights) and safety (collective security). We also cover highlights of the weeks? news, including the latest attacks in Bangladesh, more news on the Kenya bombings, and recent developments in the Middle East.
For the week ending December 01, 2002
We were pleased with the prescience the feature on identity theft showed last week, appearing just before news of the largest such incident in US history. This issue features not only this incident but also the attack in Kenya and other current news of terrorism, political violence, and the related causes and contributing factors around the world.
The feature article this week takes a break from the theme of identity and the balance between privacy (human rights) and safety (collective security) to talk about one of the gravest threats to international security: emerging infectious diseases. Specifically, we are commemorating World AIDS Day with a review of the current status of global HIV infection and the enormous threat it poses.
As mentioned last week, the feature on identity theft was originally developed as a case study for the Massachusetts eCommerce Association (http://www.massecomm.org) as part of the series on the extended enterprise in financial services. For details on how to get the complete case and reference materials or for a copy of the Federal Trade Commission?s document ?ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name?, email .
For the week ending November 24, 2002
News this week ranges from the disastrous attempt at holding the Miss World contest in northern Nigeria to the latest news on human rights and terrorism trials around the world.
Last week the feature on social engineering pointed out one of the greatest security risks we face, and one of the most difficult to mitigate: validating identity. Identity management is one of the largest challenges facing us today, and we continue exploration of this topic with an article on identity theft.
This was originally developed as a case study for the Massachusetts eCommerce Association (http://www.massecomm.org) as part of the series on the extended enterprise in financial services. For details on how to get the complete case and reference materials, email
This theme will continue in the future with articles on identity cards and emerging standards for identity management. As the series emerges, we will also discuss the balance between privacy (human rights) and safety (collective security).
For the week ending November 17, 2002
For those of you in the northeastern US this week, see if you can stop by a meeting in which we are participating in with the Massachusetts eCommerce Association. It?s a continuation of the financial services series and will be held on November 22. The topic is the balance between privacy and security. We?re presenting a case study that illustrates issues around financial aggregation and identity theft. For more information, email or look online at http://www.massecomm.org
News this week starts with the reemergence of Osama bin Laden and ends with the risk of a biological or chemical attack in the London subway. The Feature Article this week reviews a presentation Kevin Mitnick gave on social engineering at a meeting launching his new book on this topic, (The Art of Deception, published by Wiley).
For the week ending November 10, 2002
This week our feature article provides a detailed look at one area of the Caucasus, the Chechen Republic. This concludes the 2-part series about this troubled mountain border region. Watch next week for a report on a meeting with Kevin Mitnick and his new book on social engineering.
For the week ending November 3, 2002
The attack on a theatre in Moscow by Chechen rebels drew headlines for a short time, but the troubled region of the Caucasus deserves more attention. This week?s feature article talks about the history of the area and why it is a tinderbox for far-reaching conflict. Part 2, next week, goes into detail about the situation in Chechnya.
For the week ending October 20, 2002
The practical measures series continues this week with a discussion of terrorism incident response from the point of view of the people in the middle of four types of incident: bombs; kidnapping and hostage crises; shootings; and the special case of weapons of mass destruction. The article concludes with general guidelines that apply to all of these. Next week the series will wrap up with tips on how to hit terrorism at its roots.
For the week ending October 13, 2002
Recent events indicate that terrorist incidents, both well-organized and opportunistic are reaching new highs. From the careful planning of the shipping attack in Yemen and indications of the reemergence of al Qaeda to the random shootings in suburban areas around Washington D.C., the range and variety of these attacks reinforce the unsettled times in which we live.
The series on practical measures to combat terrorism seems very timely. This week focuses on terrorism threat analysis. It discusses the nature of asymmetric threats and how to adapt to them and will serve as background to next week?s topic on terrorism incident response.
For the week ending October 6, 2002
Continuing our series on practical measures in terrorism prevention, this week?s feature article discusses kidnapping. Although kidnapping in the US has declined, in many parts of the world it has increased dramatically, and in several countries presents a primary funding mechanism for terrorist activities. This is an issue that illustrates the challenge of striking a balance between personal and public safety.
For the week ending September 29, 2002
As well as covering highlights of the week?s news, we have spent a lot of time in this Newsletter talking about past attacks; current threats; and their causes and contributing factors. For the next couple of weeks, we will turn our attention toward practical measures that people can take to improve security. We begin this week with a feature article on ?Asset Management Considerations in Threat Analysis, Risk Planning and Mitigation?. Contact us by email to and we can email you a PDF version of this longer-than-usual document.
For the week ending September 22, 2002
Due to the volume of inquiries we received, this week's feature article is an excerpt from the presentation on terrorist financing delivered at a Massachusetts eCommerce Association meeting held on September 20. The meeting was oversold and included a panel discussion among representatives from the financial services industry, technology suppliers, and government agencies. They responded to the scenario raised in our Case Study and provided information on the US Patriot Act and other means by which the financial services industry can help to counter terrorism.
The next event in this series on the extended enterprise is scheduled for November 22. The topic is how to balance privacy and security, and the case study is based on using aggregation services and an identity theft scenario.
For details on how to obtain the complete Case Study, reference materials, and meeting transcript, of the last meeting, or for information on participation in the next, please send email to .
For the week ending September 15, 2002
For those of you who live in the New England area of the US, you may be interested in attending a morning meeting that will be held by the Massachusetts eCommerce Association on Friday, September 20. We will be presenting a case study on terrorist financing, which is followed by a panel of experts who will discuss the role of financial services institutions in combating terrorism. For details, go online to http://www.massecomm.org or send email to [email protected]. TerrorismCentral KnowledgeBase subscribers are eligible for the discounted Mass eComm member rates. If you cannot attend, send email to [email protected] for details on how to obtain the case study, reference materials, and transcript of the session.
The Newsletter reviews events of the week including discussions over Iraq against the backdrop of continued violence in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The Feature Article provides a list of published resources regarding September 11 (in the US and Chile).
Those who read last week?s article on the Munich Olympics may be interested to know that the German government has now offered families of the 12 victims just under $3 million in compensation.
For the week ending September 8, 2002
This week we look at the setbacks to peace in Sudan, and the surprising progress made in Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. The Feature Article looks at the Munich Olympics, 30 years later, and changes since that tragedy in airline and Olympic security.
Additions to the Terrorism Bookshelf this week including Sean K. Anderson and Stephen Sloan?s new edition of the Historical Dictionary of Terrorism and Jonathan Tucker?s book Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox.
For the week ending September 1, 2002
The latest on the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development and updates of more than 18 legal cases involving hundreds of defendants dominate this week?s news highlights. The Feature Article completes our two-part profile of Sabri al Banna.There are a number of important additions in Terrorism Bookshelf this week including Sean K. Anderson and Stephen Sloan?s new edition of their important reference work, the Historical Dictionary of Terrorism.
For the week ending August 25, 2002
In the Newsletter, you can read the summaries of the key events in international terrorism and political violence and their global context in the News Highlights. This week?s Feature Article contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book "The Human Faces of Terror". Email [email protected] if you can tell us the nom de plume of the subject of this article. Details regarding his adult career are in the next issue.
Don?t forget to check out the additions to the Terrorism Bookshelf, which now includes tables of contents of leading terrorism journals and classic books such as Kaplan and Marshall?s 1996 "The Cult At the End of the World", about Aum Shrinryko and Donna M. Schlagheck?s 1988 "International Terrorism".
For the week ending August 18, 2002
Terrorism Bookshelf is growing apace. This week, Dr. Joshua Sinai has begun adding books that are important to the study of terrorism but have not been published recently. He has compiled the Tables of Contents of such classics as Kaplan and Marshall?s 1996 "The Cult At the End of the World", about Aum Shrinryko and Donna M. Schlagheck?s 1988 "International Terrorism". Check out these important additions.
This week?s Feature Article ties together our coverage of Africa: the news highlights surveying events from Angola to Zimbabwe as well as the articles over the last two weeks that cover the peace processes in Sudan and in Democratic Republic of Congo. This week, we look at "Great Risks/Great Rewards" to put this information in a broader context of the biggest problems facing Africans today and the measures they have begun, sometimes with help from the international community, to overcome these challenges.
For the week ending August 11, 2002
News of the week provides updates to recent developments around the world, from identity cards in Japan to prospects for a US war against Iraq. Democratic Republic of Congo is the subject of this week's feature article. It contrasts the prospects here with those of Sudan, and sets the stage for the conclusion of the 3-part series next week.
For the week ending August 4, 2002
The week started with a peace agreement among warring groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ended with a day of sustained attacks against Israelis by Hamas militants, revenging the one ton bomb that killed their military leader last month. For the Feature Article, we begin a three-part series on Opportunities in Africa. This week, Part 1 covers The Sudan.
For the week ending July 28, 2002
Drought is in the news from Australia to Italy, across the US and Africa, in India and Mexico. Water shortages are more than an incident of climate change; they create major public policy issues across the world as countries must begin to grasp the shortage of this most valuable of all resources. The Feature Article this week reviews water conflicts.
News highlights provide an update on the progress of peace in Sudan, Northern Ireland, and Sri Lanka, as well as less optimistic news in the Middle East.
For the week ending July 21, 2002
In the news, the week began with a surprise from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who issued an apology for civilian deaths (the topic of this week?s Feature Article) and ended with word of a breakthrough in peace talks in Sudan, described in the News Highlights.
For the week ending July 14, 2002
Following FBI raids on dozens of jewelry stores across the US, it seems an appropriate time to share an article on Blood Diamonds, which is this week?s feature. In addition, News Highlights keeps track of all the active stories, even those that began twenty years ago like the Red Army hijacking of a Japanese airline in 1970, and the effort of the remaining hijackers to leave North Korea and return home.
For the week ending July 7, 2002
Again this week we have the latest news on terrorism and political violence from around the globe, starting with the birth of the African Union, and concluding with celebrations of the Black Tiger suicides. The feature article updates last week?s coverage of the International Criminal Court, including an evaluation of the risks posed to US forces stationed internationally.
For the week ending June 30, 2002
July 1 the International Criminal Court comes into effect. This week?s feature article describes how the ICC came into being and what it can accomplish. News highlights begin with the G8 meeting with NEPAD and end with the latest events in Sri Lanka.
For the week ending June 23, 2002
Violence in the Middle East and South Asia continues, while southern Africa faces imminent food shortages. While these areas face immediate threats, the US concentrates on reorganizing to prevent future threats, issuing warnings ranging from travel advisories to cautions that men of middle eastern appearance attempted to rent imitation ambulances. One of the serious threats that requires immediate attention is that against international shipping interests. This week?s feature article discusses Maritime Security.
For the week ending June 16, 2002
News highlights this week range from the UN World Food summit to weapons of mass destruction. The feature article follows last week?s discussion of the Sangette refugee shelter with information about tunnel security.
For the week ending June 9, 2002
In news highlights this week we look at the continuing controversy in the US over possible intelligence failures and the proposed new Department of Homeland Security. The feature article this week continues the refugee story with a look at the Sangette refugee camp.
For the week ending June 2, 2002
This week we have added a section on Human Rights to the topics you can browse in the TerrorismCentral library. This week?s feature article covers the status of refugees around the world, one of several articles that will cover issues related in some way to human rights and the causes and contributing factors of terrorism and political violence. When facing great risk, the race towards security may obscure what is being defended. But only by keeping the real goals alive and fresh does one have the courage and moral authority to gain ultimate victory.
For the week ending May 26, 2002
This week we feature an article by Subimal Bhattacharjee, the Chairman of the Task Force on Cyber Security, ASSOCHAM, India. He writes of the regional experiences and threats of cyberterrorism.
News highlights this week range from the threat of nuclear war over Kashmir to the imbroglio in the US over intelligence failures leading up to the September 11 attacks.
For the week ending May 19, 2002
Our heartfelt congratulations and very best wishes to the people of East Timor, who have their own country at last. To celebrate the arrival of the first new nation of the millennium, this week?s feature article reviews the past and looks forward to the future of East Timor.
For the week ending May 12, 2002
Last week, Burma made a significant gesture towards rejoining the international community. We discuss their freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi, the background and the future challenges involving the international community. Sierra Leone has also moved towards a more peaceful society with their first elections in nearly ten years. In most of the world, though, violence has increased. Hostilities in the Middle East have not lulled with a temporary halt to military actions in Israel and the occupied territories -- conflicts in Algeria continue to exact high tolls. There was a massacre in Colombia, and devastating bombs or explosions in Kashmir, Lebanon, Pakistan, Philippines, and Russia. Rebel activities in Uganda have led to extraordinary brutalities, affecting tens of thousands of children in Uganda and Sudan.
For the week ending May 5, 2002
This week, we round out our recent coverage of Colombia with a brief overview of Narco-Terrorism. This material is extracted from "Narco-Terrorism: A Unified Strategy to Fight a Growing Terrorist Menace" by Douglas J. Davids. Other news from Colombia, updates on recent court cases and human rights, and many other topics are covered in the news highlights. Check out our new section on Narco-terrorism.
For the week ending April 28, 2002
Last week?s feature article talked about the alleged links between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that were the subject of US Congressional hearings this week. This week?s feature, "Paramilitaries in Colombia", updates this information in the context of other paramilitary operations. Other news highlights include the ongoing election dispute in Madagascar, the fate of British plane-spotters in Greece, and birthday celebrations in Iraq.
For the week ending April 21, 2002
This week?s Newsletter includes news of the first elections in the newest country, East Timor, updates on political violence and efforts at peace-making across the globe, and a feature article on the connections between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
For the week ending April 14, 2002
This week's feature article winds up our series on Weapons Proliferation with a discussion of technologies and policies that can help ameliorate the problem. The News Highlights this week continue international coverage including the dramatic weekend in Venezuela, the impasse in the Middle East, and the unusual public appearance of the leader of the Tamil Tigers.
For the week ending April 7, 2002
There is peace in Angola. After a 27-year war, with 1 million dead (in a population less than 13 million), the UNITA rebels and the Angolan government have signed a cease-fire. While the country faces daunting challenges moving forward, their wealth in oil and diamonds, if properly directed, could help make them one of the richest countries in Africa, rather than one of the poorest.
Elsewhere in the world, escalating violence opens frightening possibilities, particularly in the Middle East. Another flashpoint is Kashmir, the subject of this week's feature article, in the third of four parts in our Weapons Proliferation series.
For the week ending March 31, 2002
With Israel waging war, this week's feature article is particularly pertinent. Weapons Proliferation II: Capacity for Destruction reminds us of the wide range of both conventional weapons and developments of weapons of mass destruction, reminding us that Israel is a non-declared nuclear nation.
News Highlights remind us what is happening in the rest of the world, including the progress of peace in Angola, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka.
For the week ending March 24, 2002
News highlights this week include updates to the peace processes in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest in narcotics-funded terrorism in Latin America, and international efforts to ameliorate the effects of poverty. The Feature Article is the first of a four-part series on Weapons Proliferation.
For the week ending March 17, 2002
Pan Am flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. The appeal in the conviction of Abdel Baset Ali Mohammed el-Megrahi was rejected by the trial court on March 14, 2002. Read about the Lockerbie bombing and the ongoing international implications in this week's feature article.
News highlights range from the threat of nuclear first strike by the US to the elections in Zimbabwe.
For the week ending March 10, 2002
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Botswana's President Festus Mogae, Mozambique's President Joachim Chissano and US President George Bush met in Washington at the end of February. Their meeting was notable for an unusual area of agreement: that the death of Jonas Savimbi heralded a new opportunity for regional peace.
Who was Jonas Savimbi and how could one man's violent death be so widely hailed as an avenue towards peace? This week's feature article looks at this question.
News highlights range from the threat of nuclear first strike by the US to the elections in Zimbabwe.
For the week ending March 03, 2002
The Feature Article this week, by guest author Dr. John D. Rogers, describes the background to the conflict in Sri Lanka and the prospects for peace following the agreement of a permanent cease-fire between the government and the Tamil rebels.In News Highlights, we have moved Aviation to a general Transportation section that now includes Aviation, Maritime, and other transportation topics. A new section on Narco-terrorism covers the ties between illegal drugs and terrorism.
For the week ending February 24, 2002
This week's feature discusses Terrorism and Business: The Impact of September 11, 2001.
For the week ending February 17, 2002
This week's feature gives the background to the Northern Ireland conflict that was illustrated in the last two weeks' "Bloody Sunday" and the "Omagh bombing and Good Friday Agreement" articles.
For the week ending February 10, 2002
This week the newsletter feature continues in Northern Ireland, looking at the Good Friday Agreement and the Omagh bombing. Next week we wrap up Northern Ireland with a discussion of the context of these events and the current peace process.
For the week ending February 3, 2002
This week's newsletter begins a new series about the Northern Ireland conflict, starting with an article about Bloody Sunday, whose 30th anniversary was last Wednesday. That and ongoing controversy over Omagh have received widespread attention in the UK. Understanding this helps shed light on similar perennial problems and efforts to resolve them. Following this series, watch for our coverage of nuclear proliferation, with a focus on how this is playing out in disputes between India and Pakistan.
For the week ending January 27, 2002
This week's feature article ends our 3-part series on the financing of terrorism with a review of technology used in the investigations now under way, as discussed last week. Next week, we turn our attentions to the ongoing conflict in Jammu-Kashmir.
For the week ending January 20, 2002
Last week we featured a brief historical context of the financing of terrorism. This week, Part 2 describes current activities to undermine the financial resources and strengthen the security of financial institutions. Next week, the final part of this series reviews technologies related to these efforts.
For the week ending January 12, 2002
This issue features the first in a three-part series on the financing of terrorism. Part 1 provides a historical context, Part 2, next week, reviews current activities, and Part 3 will review related technologies.
For the week ending January 5, 2002
On 11 September 2001 a series of attacks were launched on America, in a day that many around the world may never forget. But we also must not forget that terrorism and political violence have always been with us, as have efforts to prevent and protect against such attacks.
For this first Newsletter of 2002, we have compiled a review of the past year that describes other events that have occurred in various regions of the world.