Patterns of Global Terrorism

Patterns of Global Terrorism is a report published each year on or before April 30 by the United States Department of State. The Secretary of State is required by Congress to produce detailed assessments about

• each foreign country in which acts of international terrorism occurred;
• the extent to which foreign countries are cooperating with the U.S. in the apprehension, conviction, and punishment of terrorists;
• the extent to which foreign countries are cooperating with the U.S. in the prevention of further acts of terrorism; and
• activities of any terrorist group known to be responsible for the kidnapping or death of an American citizen.

The exact definition of the requirements are in Title 22, Section 2656f of the United States Code.

Problems with 2003 report

On June 10, 2004, a few weeks after challenges from two professors (Alan Krueger of Princeton University and David Laitin of Stanford University) and Congressman Henry Waxman, the State Department announced that the report previously issued for 2003 was incomplete and incorrect in part. The revisions issued twelve days later included significant changes, including a doubling of the number of killed and wounded mentioned in the April 2004 version. Here are examples from the "The Year in Review" section:

 ! April 29th version 
! June 22nd version

 | There were 190 acts of international terrorism in 2003, a slight decrease from the 198 attacks that occurred in 2002, and a drop of 45 percent from the level in 2001 of 346 attacks. The figure in 2003 represents the lowest annual total of international terrorist attacks since 1969.
| There were 208 acts of international terrorism in 2003, a slight increase from the most recently published figure of 198* attacks in 2002, and a 42 percent drop from the level in 2001 of 355 attacks.

 | A total of 307 persons were killed in the attacks of 2003, far fewer than the 725 killed during 2002. 
| A total of 625 persons were killed in the attacks of 2003, fewer than the 725 killed during 2002.

 | A total of 1,593 persons were wounded in the attacks that occurred in 2003, down from 2,013 persons wounded the year before.
| A total of 3646 persons were wounded in the attacks that occurred in 2003, a sharp increase from 2013 persons wounded the year before. This increase reflects the numerous indiscriminate attacks during 2003 on “soft targets,” such as places of worship, hotels, and commercial districts, intended to produce mass casualties.

The release of the April 29th version led Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to say

Terrorism continues to destroy the lives of people all over the world; and this report we are releasing today, "Patterns of Global Terrorism: 2003," documents the sad toll that such attacks took last year. This report also details the steps the United States and some 92 other nations took in 19 -- or 2003 to fight back and to protect our peoples. Indeed, you will find in these pages clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight.

External links

• Patterns of Global Terrorism from the State Department's website
• Title 22, Section 2656f of the United States Code
• Armitage's remarks on the release of the 2003 report
• Faulty Terror Report Card, a May 2004 article by professors from Princeton and Stanford
• State Dep't announcement on June 10, 2004
• Article on June 10th announcement from The Guardian
• 2003 changes blamed on "Outdated databases and mismanaged data input"