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No. 41 in world
Report: Risk relatively low
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By Jennifer Harper
-
The Washington Times
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Follow @harperbulletin

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Absolutely

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It's unfair

No one speaks proper English anyway
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The United States is not the biggest terrorist target on the planet, ranking 41st on a new index tracking
global terrorism trends released Wednesday that ranks 158 nations according to the severity of terrorist
activity within their borders, plus the death, destruction and economic damage that accompanies it.
The U.S. showed the most improvement in safety in the years since the 9/11 attacks, with the largest
decline in ranking from 2002 to 2011, according to the Global Terrorism Index. In those years, there
were 127 terrorist incidents on U.S. soil, with about half of the attacks carried out by environmental or
animal-rights activists, or by unaffiliated individuals. Twenty-three people died in these attacks and 76
were injured.
In global terms, this is a relatively low level of activity, the study says.
The index is based on a two-year analysis of statistics from the University of Marylands National
Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. The data include detailed
information weapons, casualties, perpetrators on attacks worldwide from 1970 through 2011. The
index helps demystify this destructive behavior, said Gary LaFree, director of the consortium. The
study itself was published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a nonprofit research group based in
Australia and New York City.
North America is the least-likely region to be involved in a terrorist attack, though this is not the
general impression among many of its residents. The fatality rate in the U.S. is 19 times lower than
Western Europe, institute Chairman Steve Killelea said. Still, the level of terrorism elsewhere is too
high. Were hoping the index can prompt a practical debate about the future of terrorism and some
appropriate policy responses.

Enlarge Photo
The index predictably places Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan at the top of the global list of countries that
have suffered the most attacks. In fourth place is India, followed by Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Thailand,
Russia and the Philippines. Syria, now under close scrutiny as the site of potential biological warfare as
a civil war rages, ranked 14th.
Among U.S. allies, Britain comes in 28th, Spain 45th, Italy 57th, Germany at 62nd and France 63rd.
While the index points out that terrorism has reached a kind of plateau in the past four years, only 31
nations on the list had no terrorist incidents during the study time period, including both North and
South Korea, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Liberia and Taiwan. China ranks 31st on the list.
Hybrid regimes are the most likely forms of government to give rise to terrorism, followed by flawed
democracies and authoritarian regimes, according to the index analysts.
The overall global trend does give some hope for optimism as the steep increase in terrorist activity
experienced from 2003 to 2007 has halted, but the deteriorating situation in Syria and other future
possible conflicts in the Middle East could reverse the situation, the report says. While the impact of
terrorism has leveled out, a closer analysis shows a more nuanced view: The number of attempted
attacks has actually increased, albeit very slightly over the last two years, while the number of fatalities
has decreased significantly from a peak of approximately 10,000 in 2007 to 7,500 in 2011.
The researchers also revealed some telling patterns.
In terms of targets of terrorist attacks, private citizens, government facilities, and police are the three
most commonly targeted at 29 percent, 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the index states. It is
perhaps surprising that military personnel and installations only account for 4 percent of terrorists
targets, with transportation and businesses being targeted more frequently. Notably, religious figures and
institutions and utilities only account for 3 percent and 2 percent of terrorist targets.
The 56-page report can be found at visionofhumanity.org.
Copyright 2014 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/4/as-a-target-for-terrorists-us-ranks-no-
41-in-world/#ixzz34jGnC0SE
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

As a target for terrorists, U.S. ranks No. 41 in
world
By Jennifer Harper
-
The Washington Times
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Follow @harperbulletin

Enlarge Photo
Remains of the Pentagon after a terrorist attack on Tues. September 11, ... more >


Story Topics
War_Conflict
Politics
Follow Us On
Facebook
Follow @washtimes
Question of the Day
Should Congress make English the official language of the U.S.?

Absolutely

No need

It's unfair

No one speaks proper English anyway
View results
The United States is not the biggest terrorist target on the planet, ranking 41st on a new index tracking
global terrorism trends released Wednesday that ranks 158 nations according to the severity of terrorist
activity within their borders, plus the death, destruction and economic damage that accompanies it.
The U.S. showed the most improvement in safety in the years since the 9/11 attacks, with the largest
decline in ranking from 2002 to 2011, according to the Global Terrorism Index. In those years, there
were 127 terrorist incidents on U.S. soil, with about half of the attacks carried out by environmental or
animal-rights activists, or by unaffiliated individuals. Twenty-three people died in these attacks and 76
were injured.
In global terms, this is a relatively low level of activity, the study says.
The index is based on a two-year analysis of statistics from the University of Marylands National
Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. The data include detailed
information weapons, casualties, perpetrators on attacks worldwide from 1970 through 2011. The
index helps demystify this destructive behavior, said Gary LaFree, director of the consortium. The
study itself was published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a nonprofit research group based in
Australia and New York City.
North America is the least-likely region to be involved in a terrorist attack, though this is not the
general impression among many of its residents. The fatality rate in the U.S. is 19 times lower than
Western Europe, institute Chairman Steve Killelea said. Still, the level of terrorism elsewhere is too
high. Were hoping the index can prompt a practical debate about the future of terrorism and some
appropriate policy responses.

Enlarge Photo
The index predictably places Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan at the top of the global list of countries that
have suffered the most attacks. In fourth place is India, followed by Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Thailand,
Russia and the Philippines. Syria, now under close scrutiny as the site of potential biological warfare as
a civil war rages, ranked 14th.
Among U.S. allies, Britain comes in 28th, Spain 45th, Italy 57th, Germany at 62nd and France 63rd.
While the index points out that terrorism has reached a kind of plateau in the past four years, only 31
nations on the list had no terrorist incidents during the study time period, including both North and
South Korea, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Liberia and Taiwan. China ranks 31st on the list.
Hybrid regimes are the most likely forms of government to give rise to terrorism, followed by flawed
democracies and authoritarian regimes, according to the index analysts.
The overall global trend does give some hope for optimism as the steep increase in terrorist activity
experienced from 2003 to 2007 has halted, but the deteriorating situation in Syria and other future
possible conflicts in the Middle East could reverse the situation, the report says. While the impact of
terrorism has leveled out, a closer analysis shows a more nuanced view: The number of attempted
attacks has actually increased, albeit very slightly over the last two years, while the number of fatalities
has decreased significantly from a peak of approximately 10,000 in 2007 to 7,500 in 2011.
The researchers also revealed some telling patterns.
In terms of targets of terrorist attacks, private citizens, government facilities, and police are the three
most commonly targeted at 29 percent, 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the index states. It is
perhaps surprising that military personnel and installations only account for 4 percent of terrorists
targets, with transportation and businesses being targeted more frequently. Notably, religious figures and
institutions and utilities only account for 3 percent and 2 percent of terrorist targets.
The 56-page report can be found at visionofhumanity.org.
Copyright 2014 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/4/as-a-target-for-terrorists-us-ranks-no-
41-in-world/#ixzz34jGnC0SE
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter