Terrorism/Counter-Terrorism Web Links: Library and Links: Jeannette Rankin Library Program: U.S. Institute of Peace

Topical Resources

Terrorism/Counter-Terrorism Web Links

Below are links by topical categories to resources primarily in English providing information on terrorism/counter-terrorism. For more information on specific regions, see Regional Resources. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington, D.C., we have added the category of General Resources as well as adding related web sites to existing categories.

General Resources

Government Agencies and International Organizations

Political Organizations

Research Studies and Projects

Selected Documents and Publications

These links complement the following Institute Special Reports:
(1) How Terrorism Ends
(2) Options for Prosecuting International Terrorists
(3) The Diplomacy of Counterterrorism: Lessons Learned, Ignored and Disputed
(4) Global Terrorism after the Iraq War
(5) Terrorism in the Horn of Africa
(6) www.terror.net: How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet
These links also support the Teaching Guide on International Terrorism: Definitions, Causes and Responses produced by the Institute's Education Program.

General Resources

Center for Strategic Education: September 11th and its aftermath
Johns Hopkins University's Center for Strategic Education (CSE) collection of links related to the terrorism events of September 11th include breaking news and news outlets, regional resources, organizations and research centers.

CQ Press: Recent Terrorism Events: Background and Context
The web site from Congressional Quarterly Press has a Table of Contents to its compilation of CQ sources covering media, regional politics and history, terrorism and counterterrorism, and religion and religious concepts.

Criminal Justice Resources: Terrorism Groups and Related Issues
Numerous annotated web links on criminal justice and terrorism from Michigan State University Library.

International Relations and Security Network: ISN Links Library-Terrorism
The web site contains annotated links to several sites concerning a wide spectrum of terrorism (cyber, narco, chemical and biological, nuclear, religious, state-sponsored, etc.) as well as documents, statistics, financing, history and other aspects.

Terrorism MiPAL
The Military Policy Awareness Links (MiPAL), compiled by the National Defense University Library, include U. S. policy statements, reports, organizations, and related web sites.

Terrorism: Questions and Answers
This online encyclopedia on terrorism is produced by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Markle Foundation. Part of a larger terrorism section of the CFR web site, it provides fact sheet information in the form of questions and answers on several aspects of terrorism, such as organizations, causes, individuals, policy and responses. Includes a table of contents and index of Q&As.

The War on Terrorism: Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'ida
Extensive links from the Joyner Library at Eastern Carolina University covering news, analysis, government and research sources, ideology, and additional information on terrorism.

Yahoo! News Full Coverage: Terrorism and September 11th attacks
Numerous links to news sources, stories from various wire services, reports in audio and video, and related web sites.

Government Agencies and International Organizations

Israel

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The home page of the web site features sections on terrorism and the Israeli response. A search on "terrorism" as a keyword yields, among other documents, the full text of addresses, speeches, and interviews of Israeli leaders, as well as United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on international terrorism.

United Kingdom

Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office web site includes a description of its mission and objectives, a section on key issues which include documents detailing context and background to the Good Friday Peace Agreement and with links to security statistics and a summary of counter-terrorism legislation, among other items.

United Nations

UN Action Against Terrorism
Special section of the United Nations web site collects resolutions, statements, reports, conventions and other documents from various UN agencies and bodies dealing with terrorism. The web page links to the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council with its mandate of September 28, 2001; several documents (including Security Council resolutions, presidential statements and reports), briefings, and links to related web sites. The UN special section also links to actions by the General Assembly, a section of Terrorism and Disarmament, chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, and conventions on terrorism, particularly the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism in PDF. (PDF files require Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view.)

United States

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): The War on Terrorism
Includes reports, statements, remarks and other documents concerning terrorist threats, as well as FAQs, a chemical/biological/radiological handbook and links to other U.S. government web sites dealing with terrorism.

Homeland Security
Part of the White House's web site dealing with national security, the Office of Homeland Security site has a list of responsibilities for the Office, a link to the executive order establishing the Office, links to press briefings and information from other federal agencies on terrorism.

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
The Commission "(also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks." The web site contains staff statements presented at public hearings, a schedule of hearings, archives of audio, video and transcripts from the public hearings, reports and press releases. Its final report, released Thursday, July 22, 2004 is available from the commission's web site and from the Government Printing Office (GPO) web site.

Rewards for Justice
The Rewards Program, a counter-terrorism rewards program "established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533, ...is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security." The web site lists a number of terrorist acts with brief descriptions and photos. Rewards are offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons responsible for such acts.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Web site of the new federal agency, with news, threat advisory status, information on the organization of the agency, sections on travel and transportation, immigration, threats and protection, and emergencies and disasters, with a link to a special section on citizen preparedness.

U.S. Department of State: Counterterrorism Office
The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism coordinates all U.S. government efforts to improve counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments. The web page links to current events, reports, actions on countering terrorism, official statements, documents, Congressional legislation, press briefings and testimony, related web sites and an archive.

U.S. Department of State, International Information Programs: Response to Terrorism
This web page on terrorism includes several special reports, official texts and commentary, publications, facts sheets, chronologies, links to related web sites and the archive for Response to Terrorism: U.S. Government Documents and Sources: 1995-2001.

U.S. Department of the Treasury: Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries, terrorism sponsoring organizations and international narcotics traffickers. Includes a section on sanctions program and country summaries

U.S. Institute of Peace: Coping with Terrorism: the Challenge of Political Warfare
Summary of the work and role of the U.S. Institute of Peace in facilitating meetings convened "under the aegis of the International Research Group on Political Violence." Contains a discussion of the most recent Current Issues Briefing: Coping With Terrorism: Challenges and Responses, held on September 21, 2001. Also includes links to the audio and video files from the briefing, related reports and annotated web links pages.

Political Organizations

Fateh Organization Website
Fateh is the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the largest political party in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Founded as an armed group to battle Israel, the organization and its head, Yasser Arafat, have become leaders in the Palestinian community advocating a negotiated solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The organization's web site includes some items in English, such as editorials, statements, publications, and related links.

Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
The Palestinian National Authority governs the Palestinian autonomous areas established under the Oslo Accords or Declaration of Principles of September 1993, and conducts international negotiations on behalf of Palestinians. This web site includes documents (reports, press releases, commentary and editorials), maps, and contains sections on the Peace Process, International Relations, Palestine and UN, On the Ground, Building the State, and Government. Links to the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sinn Fein
Sinn Fein is widely regarded to be the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was a party to the negotiations which resulted in the Good Friday Accords of April 1998. The party's web site describes Sinn Fein's objectives, includes official documents and press releases, links to documents on the peace talks, election information, related web sites and a political weekly newspaper An Phlobacht/Republican News.

Research Studies and Projects

Center for Defense Information (CDI): Terrorism
Web site includes reports, issue briefs, analysis, fact sheets, and news releases concerning topics related to terrorism, such as homeland security, terrorist networks, U.S. weapons systems, and foreign policy/security strategy.

Centre for Defence and International Security Studies: Terrorism
One of eight research areas for the Centre, the web page briefly describes the program and includes links to a database of terrorist incidents from 1945 to 1998 (later years are under construction), roughly divided by decade.

Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV)
The Centre is part of the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The web site includes information on staff, bulletins, publications, research, and links to relevant sites.

Federation of American Scientists: Terrorism: Intelligence Threat Assessments (FAS)
Part of FAS's Intelligence Resource Program, this site links to documents, articles and papers, other web sites, and a section on profiles of terrorist organizations.

International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT)
The Institute, based in Herzlia, Israel, has a well-developed web site, with information on the board of directors and staff, news updates, reports and articles on international and state-sponsored terrorism, counter-terrorism and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Includes a database of Middle East terrorist attacks, profiles of terrorist organizations, legal documents, UN resolutions and treaties, with links to an online discussion forum, site search engine and related web sites.

National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT)
Based in Oklahoma City, the Institute's comprehensive database-driven web site features reports, journals, articles, fact sheets and links, as well as a searchable library catalog, a terrorism bibliography, and a conference calendar. Other highlights include databases of terrorism chronologies, incidents and indictments, with an emphasis on first responders, victims' assistance, research and protecting one's community. A special feature includes a set of the FBI's reports on Terrorism in the United States from 1985-1999.

SITE Institute
Web site of the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE), an organization whose "mission is to facilitate the comprehension of the underlying threat of terrorism, the sources of terrorism, and the prevention of terrorism." The web site features terrorism headlines of the week and links to terrorist web sites.

South Asia Terrorism Portal
This web site has information on terrorism specific to six countries in South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and an overview of the region as a whole. The amount of information available for each country varies, but generally includes a current assessment of the situation, background information, descriptions of terrorist groups, a timeline of events, and documents. Statistical data are available for the states of India. The web site also has news updates, a bibliography, publications and links to related sites on terrorism and South Asia.

Terrorism Research Center
The web site includes documents, specific topics, links to other relevant web sites, a database of significant events and profiles of terrorist and counterterrorist groups.

Selected Documents and Publications

The 9-11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Official Government Edition
Report of the Commission, released July 22, 2004, on the Government Printing Office (GPO) web site; it is also available on the Commission's web site

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism
A December 2003 report from the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S. Army War College.

Congressional Research Reports (CRS): The Global Campaign Against Terrorism
Reports from the Congressional Research Service on terrorism-related issues, dating from June 19, 2001 to the present, made available through the Foreign Press Centers section of the U.S. Department of State's web site.

Countering the Changing Threat of International Terrorism
A June 5, 2000 report from the National Commission on Terrorism.

Countering the New Terrorism
Publication from RAND, a non-profit research institution based in California, in several PDF files (requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view).

Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism on May 23, 2003 with designations by the Secretary of State.

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Full text of the 1949 Convention from the web site of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).

International Terrorism Conventions
From the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, released August 17, 1998, this summary describes eleven major multilateral conventions related to states' responsibilities for combating terrorism and provides a brief overview of some of the major terms of each instrument.

National Strategy for Homeland Security
This July 2002 report on the White House web site outlines steps for preparing the nation to protect against terrorist attacks, with sections such as intelligence and warning, emergency preparedness and response, information sharing and systems and costs of homeland security.

Patterns of Global Terrorism: 2003
Report from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, available in html and pdf. It is organized by region and country, with a chronology of terrorist incidents, background information on designated terrorist groups and other terrorist groups and , statistical appendices of terrorist attacks and casualties. Reports for previous years are also available online.

Gilmore Commission: Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction
The Gilmore Commission has issued five annual reports to the President and the Congress: I. Assessing the Threat (December 15, 1999), II. Toward a National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (December 15, 2000), III. For Ray Downey (December 15, 2001), IV. Implementing the National Strategy (December 15, 2002) and V. Forging America's New Normalcy: Securing Our Homeland, Preserving Our Liberty (December 15, 2003). The full reports are in PDF (requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view).

September 11th Sourcebooks: National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War
A series of collections of documents from the National Security Archive at George Washington University focusing on issues related to the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Seven volumes, including Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy, Volume II: Afghanistan: Lessons from the Lost War and Volume VI: the Hunt for Bin Laden: Background on the Role of Special Forces in U.S. Military Strategy and Volume VII: The Taliban File have been posted thus far.

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
This journal, published by Taylor & Francis, is available online by subscription, but the table of contents for some issues may be viewed on the web and a free subscription to SARA: Scholarly Articles Research Alerting is available via e-mail.

Terrorism and Political Violence
This journal, published by Frank Cass, has the tables of contents and abstracts of articles for current and back issues online.

Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 2001
On the web site of the United States Mission to the European Union, a report for Congress from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on terrorism dated September 10, 2001. In PDF, it requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view.

Terrorism Update
From the web site of the Anti-Defamation League, it includes full text articles, press releases, background information on terrorism and counterterrorism.

U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) Reports: Special Collections: Terrorism
Chronological listing of documents from February 1980 to the present on issues related to terrorism. The GAO also has similar collections of documents on airport security and homeland security.

U.S. Presidential Executive Orders
From the White House web site, the texts of executive orders related to terrorism, including one on terrorist financing, establishing the Office of Homeland Security and the military order covering the "detention, treatment, and trial of certain non-citizens in the war against terrorism."

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Updated: September 1, 2004

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