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 Introduction Patterns of Global Terrorism -2000 Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism April 2001
The year 2000 showed that terrorism continues to pose a clear and
present danger to the international community. From the millennium-related
threats at the beginning of the year to the USS Cole bombing and the rash
of hostage takings at the end, the year 2000 highlighted the need for
continued vigilance by our government and our allies throughout the world.
The tragic death of 19 US citizens at the hands of terrorists is the most
sober reminder. While the threat continues, 2000 saw the international
community's commitment to counterterrorism cooperation and ability to
mobilize its resources grow stronger than ever. As a result,
state-sponsored terrorism has continued to decline, international
isolation of terrorist groups and countries has increased, and terrorists
are being brought to justice. Indeed, the vigilance of all members of the
international community is critical to limiting the mobility and
capability of terrorists throughout the world, and both we and the
terrorists know it. We base our cooperation with our international partners on four
basic policy tenets: These points have been the basis for international cooperation
and the foundation for important progress. UN Security Council Resolution 1333, which levied additional
sanctions on the Taliban for harboring Usama Bin Ladin and failing to
close down terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, was a major victory
for international cooperation against terrorism. This resolution, passed a
year after its predecessor resolution 1267, showed the extent to which the
international community is prepared to go to isolate those states that
refuse to adhere to international norms. The UN's action also reflected the understanding that
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan remains a primary hub for terrorists and a
home or transit point for the loosely organized network of "Afghan
alumni," a web of informally linked individuals and groups that were
trained and fought in the Afghan war. Afghan alumni have been involved in
most major terrorist plots or attacks against the United States in the
past 15 years and now engage in international militant and terrorist acts
throughout the world. The leaders of some of the most dangerous terrorist
groups to emerge in the past decade have headquarters or major offices in
Afghanistan, and their associates threaten stability in many real and
potential trouble spots around the globe--from the Philippines to the
Balkans, Central Asia to the Persian Gulf, Western China to Somalia, and
Western Europe to South Asia. This is why the Taliban's continued support
for these groups is now recognized by the international community as a
growing threat to all countries. International cooperation against agents linked to this network
extended far beyond the collaboration on UNSCR 1333. Numerous countries
have sent the message to the Taliban and its supporters that the
international community--as a whole and as individual member
countries--will not stand for such blatant disregard for international
law. Good intelligence and law enforcement work--exemplified by the
Jordanian Government--enabled partner countries to thwart millennium
attacks in early 2000. It has also led to invaluable coordination in the
investigation of the October bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen's port of
Aden. (It is worth noting that several suspects in the attack on the USS
Cole fled back to, not surprisingly, Afghanistan.) We remain fervently
committed to ensuring that those who committed and supported the attack on
the USS Cole--and killed 17 US service persons--are brought to justice. We
will continue to work closely with our allies to ensure that this
terrorist incident and others like it do not go unpunished. The opening in New York of the trial against those accused of
perpetrating the bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam
in 1998 marked another major victory. Strong international cooperation
with our allies--Kenya, Germany, and South Africa, for example--led to the
apprehension of several suspects in those crimes. Their trial underlines
the importance of cooperative diplomatic, law enforcement, and judicial
efforts to combat terrorism. It sends the same strong message that is the
cornerstone of US counterterrorism policy: we will be unrelenting in our
efforts to bring to justice every individual who chooses terrorism against
the United States to advance his or her agenda. Afghanistan is not the only threat, nor the only rallying point
for international cooperation. The conviction of Abdel Basset Ali Mohamed
al-Megrahi to life imprisonment for his role in the downing of Pan Am
flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 also sent a strong message
about the international community's determination to bring to justice
those responsible for terrorist acts, regardless of how much time has
passed. The US Government remains dedicated to maintaining pressure on the
Libyan Government until it complies fully with the stipulations required
by the UN Security Council to lift sanctions. Central Asian states have stepped up their fight against
terrorist elements in their region, particularly those operating from
Afghanistan. At a US Government-hosted conference in June 2000,
representatives from five Central Asian states discussed the challenges in
their region and committed themselves to developing mechanisms for
cooperating to deny sanctuary and financial support to terrorists. We look
forward to a follow-up conference and continued constructive engagement
with the countries of the region. While our cooperation with states such as Jordan and Egypt is
strong, the terrorism picture in the Middle East remains grim,
particularly given the recent escalation of violence in the region.
Despite domestic political changes that suggest evolution towards a more
moderate policy, Iran remained the primary state sponsor of terrorism, due
to its continued support for groups that violently oppose peace between
Israel and its Arab neighbors. We expect those states in the region that
are committed to peace to distance themselves from all forms of terrorism
and to ensure that their countries do not become safehavens or launching
points for terrorist acts. During the past year, increased bilateral and multilateral
cooperation with friendly nations has brought unified pressure and action
against terrorism. We have expanded our bilateral dialogues with Russia,
India, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Canada, and have extended
cooperation in intelligence sharing, law enforcement, and antiterrorism
training. In addition, we have worked closely with the member states of
the G-8, which continued to condemn terrorism emanating from Afghanistan
and Iran, and made strides in cutting off terrorist financing. Like our G-8 counterparts, the United States places a high
priority on denying terrorists their sources of financing and blocking
their ability to use the funds they already control. In January 2000 we
signed the new International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist
Financing. The Convention creates an international legal framework for
investigating, apprehending, and prosecuting those involved in terrorist
financing and describes preventive measures to identify and choke off
sources of income for terrorists and to restrict the movements of such
funds across international borders. We look to all members of the
international community to join the 35 signatories and to ratify and
implement the convention. In addition, we are strengthening our efforts to fight the spate
of hostage taking seen in 2000. Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and South
America are just a few of the areas that have been plagued by hostage
taking, often linked to terrorist elements. We maintain our policy that we
will not concede to terrorist demands or pay ransom. Doing so only rewards
the terrorist-criminals and encourages continued criminality. We do remain
committed to negotiations with hostage takers for the safety of US
citizens and other nationals. The foundation of our efforts is diplomacy. Our diplomats and
representatives maintain relations with countries that are the frontline
of defense for US citizens at home and abroad. Our diplomatic efforts
build crucial cooperation necessary for joint counterterrorism efforts and
raise international political will to fight terrorism. We will continue to
reach out to our allies while isolating those who are sympathetic to
terrorism. We will continue to use all US tools and cooperation with these
allies to disrupt terrorist activity and build a world that is intolerant
of terrorists. And we will never rest until we have brought to justice
each terrorist that has targeted the United States and its citizens. Edmund J. Hull
Adverse mention in this report of individual members of any political,
social, ethnic, religious, or national group is not meant to imply that
all members of that group are terrorists. Indeed, terrorists represent a
small minority of dedicated, often fanatical, individuals in most such
groups. It is those small groups--and their actions--that are the subject
of this report. Furthermore, terrorist acts are part of a larger phenomenon of
politically inspired violence, and at times the line between the two can
become difficult to draw. To relate terrorist events to the larger
context, and to give a feel for the conflicts that spawn violence, this
report will discuss terrorist acts as well as other violent incidents that
are not necessarily international terrorism.
This report is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United
States Code, Section 2656f(a), which requires the Department of State to
provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those
countries and groups meeting the criteria of Section (a)(1) and (2) of the
Act. As required by legislation, the report includes detailed assessments
of foreign countries where significant terrorist acts occurred and
countries about which Congress was notified during the preceding five
years pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979
(the so-called terrorist-list countries that have repeatedly provided
state support for international terrorism). In addition, the report
includes all relevant information about the previous year's activities of
individuals, terrorist organizations, or umbrella groups known to be
responsible for the kidnapping or death of any US citizen during the
preceding five years and groups known to be financed by state sponsors of
terrorism. In 1996, Congress amended the reporting requirements contained
in the above-referenced law. The amended law requires the Department of
State to report on the extent to which other countries cooperate with the
United States in apprehending, convicting, and punishing terrorists
responsible for attacking US citizens or interests. The law also requires
that this report describe the extent to which foreign governments are
cooperating, or have cooperated during the previous five years, in
preventing future acts of terrorism. As permitted in the amended
legislation, the Department is submitting such information to Congress in
a classified annex to this unclassified report.
No one definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance. For the
purposes of this report, however, we have chosen the definition of
terrorism contained in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section
2656f(d). That statute contains the following definitions: The US Government has employed this definition of terrorism for
statistical and analytical purposes since 1983. Domestic terrorism is probably a more widespread phenomenon than
international terrorism. Because international terrorism has a direct
impact on US interests, it is the primary focus of this report. However,
the report also describes, but does not provide statistics on, significant
developments in domestic terrorism. /*/ For purposes of this definition, the term
"noncombatant" is interpreted to include, in addition to civilians,
military personnel who at the time of the incident are unarmed or not on
duty. For example, in past reports we have listed as terrorist incidents
the murders of the following US military personnel: Col. James Rowe,
killed in Manila in April 1989; Capt. William Nordeen, US defense attache
killed in Athens in June 1988; the two servicemen killed in the Labelle
discotheque bombing in West Berlin in April 1986; and the four off-duty US
Embassy Marine guards killed in a cafe in El Salvador in June 1985. We
also consider as acts of terrorism attacks on military installations or on
armed military personnel when a state of military hostilities does not
exist at the site, such as bombings against US bases in Europe, the
Philippines, or elsewhere. |
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