Recent Trends in Domestic and International Terror

by The CNSS

Recent Trends in Domestic and International Terrorism

On February 10, 1995, a counterterrorism bill drafted by the Clinton Administration was introduced in the Senate as S. 390 and in the House of Representatives as H.R. 896. The legislation poses serious threats to constitutional rights.

Terrorism is a serious problem, and calls for a serious response founded on a clear and accurate assessment of the facts. In the past, the Administration and Congress have found it highly relevant to look at the numbers and trends of terrorist incidents as a predicate for policy decisions.

The Administration's proposal begins with nearly eight pages of "findings" that omit some key facts: that terrorism in the United States, especially terrorism of international origin, is rare, and that terrorism abroad, including terrorism against Americans abroad, continues to decline.

1. International Terrorism in the U.S.

According to reports published by the FBI, in the past eleven years, there have been two international terrorist incidents in the United States. (An international terrorist incident is defined by the FBI as one committed by a group or individual that is foreign-based and/or directed by countries or groups outside the United States or whose activities transcend national boundaries.) One of the two incidents was the notorious and highly destructive World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. The other was not even directed against the U.S. and is hard to characterize as a serious incident: in April 1992, five opponents of the Iranian regime occupied the offices of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York City. The five pled guilty and were sentenced to three months in jail.

2. Domestic Terrorism in the U.S.

Last year (1994), there were no terrorist incidents in the United States, according to statistics maintained by the FBI. There were no preventions of terrorist incidents in the United States. There was one set of suspected terrorist incidents, involving improvised explosive devices discovered at two locations in New York. The devices, which did not detonate, were accompanied by notes criticizing the government of Israel as being too liberal, signed by the Maccabee Squad and the Shield of David. The case remains unsolved to date.

In 1993, there were 11 domestic terrorist incidents in the U.S. Nine of the eleven all occurred on a single night when animal rights activists placed small incendiary devices in four Chicago department stores that sell furs. (According to the FBI, the most active domestic "terrorist" groups in recent years have been animal rights activists and "skinheads".)

In recent years, the number of terrorist incidents in the U.S., according to the FBI, is as follows:

Actual Prevented Suspected 1994 0 0 1 1993 12 7 2 1992 4 0 0 1991 5 4 1 1990 7 5 1 1989 4 7 16

As noted above, all but one of the incidents under "Actual" were domestic in nature.

3. International Terrorism is On the Decline; Lethality of Incidents Rises

There have been two trends in international terrorism: incidents have been declining, while the lethality of incidents has been increasing.

After reaching a peak in 1987, international terrorist incidents have been declining, according to statistics collected and published by the U.S. Department of State. In 1992, the State Department recorded a total of 364 terrorist incidents worldwide, down from the 666 recorded in 1987. In 1993, total incidents increased to 427, but were it not for a series of coordinated incidents, the level of terrorism would have fallen in 1993 as well: the increase in 1993 over 1992 was caused by a campaign of 150 attacks carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party against Turkish interests in Western Europe on two separate days, in June and November, with about 75 attacks each day.

In 1994, the number of terrorist incidents worldwide fell again, to 321, according to preliminary statistics available from the State Department.

According to the State Department, anti-U.S. attacks fell to 88 in 1993, down from 142 in 1992. Anti-U.S. attacks fell again in 1994, to 66. By comparison, in 1986, there were 204 attacks against Americans.

According to the U.S. State Department, about 21% of world terror is targeted at the U.S.

In 1993, 109 people were killed and 1,393 were wounded in terrorist incidents worldwide, the highest casualty total in five years. Six of those killed and nearly a thousand of those wounded were Americans, all as a result of The World Trade Center bombing. Prior to that, the most deadly attack against Americans was the downing of Pan Am 103 in 1988, in which 189 Americans were killed. In 1992, 2 Americans were killed and 1 was wounded in terrorist incidents. In 1991, there were 7 American fatalities and 14 other casualties. In 1990, 12 Americans were killed and 11 injured in incidents worldwide.

Administration officials and terrorism experts have cited several reasons for the trend. In December 1994, the State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism said that international terrorism was declining because of the Middle East peace process, the firm policies of the U.S and other governments, and the fall of the Soviet Union, which had provided support for terrorist organizations.

In June 1994, the State Department's director for regional counter-terrorism affairs stated, "Terrorist activity is at a more manageable level now."

"Clearly, there has been a very, very sharp reduction in what we used to call state-sponsored terrorism," said Robert B. Oakley, the retired career foreign service officer who had served as director of the Office of Combatting Terrorism in the Reagan administration, in a news story that appeared in September 1994.

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April 26, 1995