NCJ Number
190361
Date Published
2000
Length
68 pages
Annotation
This document provides a summary of terrorism-related activity in 1999 and a broad overview of U.S.-based terrorism during the past three decades.
Abstract
The report discussed notable cases, trends, emerging threats, and the development of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) response to terrorism during the past 30 years. It summarizes terrorist incidents in the United States during the past decade, provides background information on currently designated foreign terrorist organizations and terrorist renditions (1987-1999), and includes graphs depicting terrorist-related activity in the United States during the past two decades. For purposes of this report, the FBI uses the following definitions: Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. International terrorism involves violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any state, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any state. International terrorist acts occur outside the United States or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which the perpetrators operate or seek asylum. The FBI has recorded at least one terrorist or suspected incident in the United States every year since it began compiling annual terrorism statistics in 1975, and figures for the past several years have increased steadily -- from 2 in 1995, to 3 in 1996, to 4 in 1997, to 5 in 1998, to 12 in 1999. During the same 5-year period, U.S. law enforcement prevented 46 planned acts of terrorism. The report concluded that, while the threat was formidable, the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities have developed an effective and highly integrated response to the challenge. Figures, appendixes