Are We Winning Yet?

[PanTheMan]

Global terror attacks tripled in 2004

National Counterterrorism Center releases stats after State Department decides not to.

csmonitor.com


Terror attacks around the world tripled in 2004, rising from 175 in 2003 to 655 last year, according to statistics released by the US government's National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) Wednesday. The figure includes the children killed in the Beslan massacre in Russia, and the victims of the Madrid train bombings.
Terror attacks in Iraq - 198 - were nine times the previous year's total. The numbers did not include attacks on US troops.

The US State Department held a briefing Wednesday on its global terrorism report (formerly called 'Global Patterns of Terrorism,' now called the Country Report on Terrorism) Wednesday, but did not include the statistics on actual attacks, on the order of Secretary of State Condelezza Rice, the Washington Post reported. Ms. Rice had said she wanted US terrorism officials not to release the figures.

The Herald of Scotland, however, reports that the NCC released the statistics after it was pressured to do so by several congressmen. The Herald also reported that former senior counterterrorism official Larry Johnson said the State Department balked at releasing the data because "it might lead to the public perception that America is losing the global war on terror."

"Last year was bad [said Mr. Johnson]. This year is worse. They are deliberately trying to withhold data because it shows that as far as the war on international terrorism is concerned, we're losing."
A spokesman for the State Department admitted that there had been a "dramatic uptick" in terrorism, and said the government will provide the public with "all the information it needs for an informed debate." Knight Ridder reported Wednesday that senior NCC officials said that the high total was "a result of changes in methodology and urged reporters not to compare this year's terrorism numbers with previous ones."

"The numbers can't be compared in any meaningful way," said John Brennan, acting head of the center, which compiled the statistics. He said his agency had revamped the process of counting terrorist attacks after last year's embarrassment in which the State Department withdrew its first report and admitted it had significantly understated what turned out to be a record number of attacks.
Knight Ridder reported in mid-April that the Bush administration planned to withhold the terrorist-attacks statistics. But it became harder for the Bush administration not to make the data public, the BBC reported Wednesday, after Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman last week released the figures, which he had received in a congressional briefing.
CNN reports that, contrary to Mr. Brennan's statement above, Mr. Waxman said officials told the congressmen "that the methodology and definitions used to vet the data were identical to last year's [controversial report]."

Looking at the bigger picture, media reports say the NCC study indicates the battle against international terrorism remains "formidable." While Al Qaeda remains the main enemy, it has grown much weaker. But freelance terror operations, "either affiliated with Al Qaeda or inspired by its goals," have become a much greater threat.

Bloomberg News quotes the report as saying that "an increasing number of terrorist groups are seeking weapons of mass destruction."

"Although Al Qaeda remains the primary concern regarding possible WMD threats, the number of groups expressing interest in such material is increasing, and WMD technology and know-how is proliferating in the jihadist community," the report said.
The Washington Post reports that the actual number of terror-related incidents may in fact be higher than even the total released by the NCC Wednesday. The counter terrorism organization is working on a new list, to be released in July, that aims to use "new, more realistic, definitions of terrorism."
As an example of the rules under which the State Department, and his center for the listings distributed Wednesday, have operated, Brennan said the report lists only one of two Russian airliners that suicide bombers blew out of the sky last year. The one that counted had an Israeli aboard. The other had all Russians, which made it a domestic incident.
"It makes no sense to have the definition of terrorism depend on checking the nationality of all the victims," Brennan said.

[sleepyjeff]

Bloomberg News quotes the report as saying that "an increasing number of terrorist groups are seeking weapons of mass destruction."

hmmm...........no, too easy

[Isaac]

Allow me:

[sleepyjeff]

^^^Now that was funny; all politics aside...........

[PanTheMan]

I heard yet another report on the radio that the insurgents are NOT flowing in fro other countries as was earlier said, but were 90% Iraqi's fighting what they believe to be an occupation. (Rumsfeld kind of coughed while mumbling out these findings to a reporter)

Soon we will arrive at 2000 dead American Soldiers (Officially) and countless others that are dead at the feet of an idiot and his little war.

9/11 just passed and Bush said not a word about Osama Bin Laden, but yet again touted his brilliant successes following 9/11 including the capture of Saddam. Once again trying oh so desperatly to make it sound like Saddam was connected to flying those planes on 9/11.

I wonder if he needed help walking away from the mic as not to get wet his $1500 suit in that waist deep sh*t-water both him and the city of New Orleans are in.

[Name]

Sorry, I haven't seen the leaderboard lately, so I don't know what the score is. So not sure if we are winning or not, not even sure what period we are in. But I don't remember seeing the halftime show yet, so guess we aren't even half way through this yet.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Name

Sorry, I haven't seen the leaderboard lately, so I don't know what the score is. So not sure if we are winning or not, not even sure what period we are in. But I don't remember seeing the halftime show yet, so guess we aren't even half way through this yet.

(possibly my worst photoshop effort ever)

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

(possibly my worst photoshop effort ever)

" Pardon my photoshop malfunction. "

[PanTheMan]

It is am Amazing Game, Right After the Kickoff Bombed and brought the buildings down, instead of taking it right up the middle, we made a WIDE turn right and tackled Saddam the Janitor out in one of the wings. Team Osama , Im sure had a good laugh at that one....

[Morrigoon]

Take THAT metaphor a bit further, and you've got the makings of a great open mic post! LOL