War on Terrorism Information Resources
- Definitions of Terrorism (from The Terrorism Research Center)
- The September 11 Web Archive
- Government Sources
- Recent Legislation
- United Nations
- Specialist Organizations
- Databases
- Maps and Country Information
- Compilations of Links
- News Search Engines
- News search engines offer far more current information on breaking news.
Government Sources
- Department of Defense. DefenseliNK
- Department of Justice
- Department of State
- America Responds: Building a Global Coalition Against Terrorism
- Official Statements: Coalition Against Terrorism
- Response to Terrorism
- Updated regularly with statements and briefings
- Includes links to key policy documents and UN information
- Counterterrorism Office
- Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism [archive site] -- information released prior to January 20, 2001
- Patterns of Global Terrorism
(1995-2000)
- Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2000 includes: Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism; Appendix A: Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 2000; Appendix B: Background Information on Terrorist Groups; and Appendix F: International Terrorist Incidents, 2000 (map)
- Annual Reports (from the archive site):
- Includes: Foreign Terrorist Organizations Designations (1997, 1999), Patterns of Global Terrorism (1995-1999), Significant Incidents of Political Violence Against Americans (1995-1997), and Political Violence Against Americans (1998)
- 2001 Report on Foreign Terrorist Organizations (released October 5, 2001)
- Background Note: Afghanistan (October 2001)
- Fact Sheets
- U.S. Assistance to the Afghan People (October 4, 2001)
- Operation Enduring Freedom Overview (October 1, 2001)
- Sanctions on India and Pakistan (September 28, 2001)
- Sanctions Against the Taliban in Afghanistan (November 29, 1999)
- Women and Girls in Afghanistan(March 10, 1998)
- Rewards for Justice: A Counter-Terrorism Rewards Program (Diplomatic Security Service)
- Bureau of South Asian Affairs
- Deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
- The White House
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Terrorist Attacks
- "The FBI's Press Release webpage is the first section of the website to be updated with announcements about the September 11 attacks. Therefore, please refer to the Press Release page for the most current announcements."
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Response
- Anthrax Medical Information
- Anthrax as a Biological Weapon: Medical and Public Health Management [PDF] (11 pp.) (from JAMA, May 12, 1999, v.281, no.18)
- Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response [PDF] (26 pp.)
- Facts About Anthrax, Botulism, Pneumonic Plague, and Smallpox [PDF] (4 pp.)
- Protocol: Interim Recommended Notification Procedures for Local and State Public Health Department Leaders in the Event of a Bioterrorist Incident
- National Transportation Safety Board
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Testimony Concerning the State of the Nation's Financial Markets in the Wake of Recent Terrorist Attacks (Harvey L. Pitt, SEC Chairman, before the Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives, September 26, 2001)
- SEC Request Relating to Information Pertaining to the Terrorist Attacks (2001-115) (October 18, 2001)
- Do searches using "terrorist" or "terrorism" in the Search box in the upper right corner of the page to find other SEC documents on this topic
- U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
- U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (Hart-Rudman Commission)
- Contains reports, news, and the Commission's charter
- Reports include New world coming: American security in the 21st century (Phase I report), Seeking a national strategy: a concert for preserving security and promoting freedom (Phase II report) and Roadmap for national security: imperative for change (Phase III report).
- U.S. Government Responds to September 11 (FirstGov)
- Includes sections on benefits and assistance, leads and clues, scams and frauds, and travel
- United States Institute of Peace
- An independent, nonpartisan federal institution created and funded by Congress to strengthen the nation's capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict
- Search "Publications" for issues of Peace Watch, Peaceworks, and Current Issues and other information
Recent Legislation
- Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001, signed into law by President Bush, Friday, October 26, 2001
- Text versions of Bill Number H.R. 3162 for the 107th Congress
- Received in the Senate
- Engrossed in the House
- Introduced in the House
- Enrolled Bill
- PDF version from GPO Access (131 pp.)
- Summary of the Act in the October 25, 2001, Congressional Record, pages S11005-14
- The law has many new powers for law enforcement authorities that some civil liberty advocates are concerned about.
- An example: Statement by Senator Feingold on the Senate floor Thursday, October 25, during consideration of the Anti-Terrorism bill H.R. 3162 (includes his concerns about business records, including library circulation records)
- Text versions of Bill Number H.R. 3162 for the 107th Congress
United Nations
- UN Action Against Terrorism
- Includes Latest Developments; Resolutions by the Security Council, the General Assembly, and various subsidiary groups; Reports by the Secretary-General, Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, Conventions on Terrorism, and other resources
Specialist Organizations
- Center for Defence and International Security Studies (Department of Politics and International Relations, Lancaster University, United Kingdom)
- The CDISS Database: Terrorist Incidents 1945-1998
- The CDISS Terrorism Programme maintains a database of major terrorist incidents around the world. The database lists selected incidents from 1945 (after the end of World War 2) through 1998. These collected incidents provide a snapshot of the wide-range of terrorist attacks and political violence experienced worldwide since World War II. They are in the process of bringing the incident database up-to-date through 1999, and hope to have that information posted in the near future.
- The link above is to the 1940-1949 page, with links to the other decades available on the left side of the page.
- Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI). EmergencyNet
- ERRI Counter-Terrorism Archive
- Includes chronologies of terrorist incidents organized by world regions
- Usama bin Laden page
- Emergency Response to Chemical/Biological Terrorist Incidents (08/07/97)
- ERRI Counter-Terrorism Archive
- Federation of American Scientists
- America's War on Terrorism
- Terrorism and WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
- Strategy and Weaponry
- Congressional Action (includes Anti-Terrorism Legislation, Intelligence Matters, Hearings, and Civil Libertarian Critiques)
- Information Security (includes government and FAS action in response to limiting classified information)
- Arms Transfers
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Intelligence and Related Issues
- Terrorism: Background and Threat Assessment
- Chemical & Biological Arms Control Program
Zacarias Moussaoui indictment (United States of America v. Zacarias Moussaoui. In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. December 2001 term) [HTML] [PDF]
- America's War on Terrorism
- International Association for Counterterrorism & Security Professionals
- Includes a "Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 2000"
- Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism 2000
- Pew Internet & American Life Project (an initiative of the Pew Research Center)
- Terrorism Research Center
- Dedicated to informing the public of the phenomena of terrorism and information warfare
- Features essays and thought pieces on current issues, as well as links to other terrorism documents, research and resources
- U.S. Homeland Attack: September 11, 2001
- Homeland Threats focus area
- Chem/Bioterrorism and Response focus area
- Transcript of "Usamah Bin-Ladin, the Destruction of the Base" -- Interview with Usamah Bin-Ladin
- Presented by Salah Najm
- Conducted by Jamal Isma'il in an unspecified location in Afghanistan
- Aired 10 June 1999
- The CDISS Database: Terrorist Incidents 1945-1998
Databases
- GAO Reports (Search through GPO Access)
- The General Accounting Office has established three special collections pages with lists of their reports from 1980 to the present: "Terrorism," "Airport Security," and "Homeland Security."
- See the links to these special lists in the "GAO Reports" section on the Office's home page, under "Special Collections."
- Current reports are available online in full-text (generally 1995 to the present, with some 1993 and 1994 reports included).
- STINET (Scientific and Technical Information Network) [Quick Search]
- From the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
- "Public STINET" provides access to all unclassified, unlimited citations to documents added into DTIC from late December 1974 to the present.
- Restricting your search to the "DTIC Full-Text Collection" will retrieve all reports available in full-text.
Maps and Country Information
- Middle East Maps (from University of Texas at Austin, Perry Castañeda Library Map Collection)
- Afghanistan Maps
- Includes Country maps (CIA); City maps of Herat, and Kabul; Regional maps; Thematic maps; and Historical maps.
- Muslim Distribution [world] (1995)
- Afghanistan Maps
- Afghanistan: a Country Study (January 1986)
- Version mounted by the Library of Congress [HTML] (includes a search interface)
- Version mounted by the Illinois Institute of Technology [in PDF and HTML]
- Publication divided into chapters
- Foreign Area Studies, The American University
- Part of the Country Studies/area Handbooks series
- Library of Congress provides updated chapters (some with research completed in 1997)
- Other Country Studies (Library of Congress)
- Background Note: Afghanistan (October 2001)
- State Dept., Bureau of South Asian Affairs
- A thumbnail sketch of Afghanistan's people, history, government, political conditions, economy, foreign relations and business information
- U.S. Department of State Reports on Afghanistan
- Includes: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1999 and 2000), Annual Report on International Religious Freedom Report for 1999, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 1998, and Women and Girls in Afghanistan (Fact sheet released March 10, 1998)
- Country Analysis Briefs: Afghanistan (Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration) (September 2001)
- The information contained in this report is the best available as of September 2001 and can change.
- The World Factbook (CIA) [Factbook home]
Compilations of Links
- Alternative Resources on the U.S. "War Against Terrorism" (International Responsibilities Task Force, Social Responsibilities Round Table, American Library Association)
- Includes links to alternative news, analysis and commentary; petitions; and conferences and demonstrations
- America's War Against Terrorism: World Trade Center/Pentagon Terrorism and the Aftermath (University of Michigan)
- This comprehensive site is organized into the following sections: September 11th attack, previous attacks, other countries, background research, and related web pages ("Chemical and Biological Warfare," and "Middle East Conflicts").
- Attack on America: Osama bin Laden, al-Qa'ida, and Terrorism (East Carolina University (Greenville, NC))
- [Revised February 5, 2002] Due to changed circumstances and the growing number of sources available, the compiler has focused the original page primarily on bin Laden and al-Qa'ida
- Includes a section called "Historical Analysis of al-Qa'ida and Radical Islamism"
- Attack on America: Tuesday 11 September 2001 (Michael Sauer, Bibliographical Center for Research (Aurora, CO))
- Government Information on World Terrorism (Illinois Institute of Technology, Government Publications Access)
- Includes links on country and group information, intelligence, counterterrorism, and disaster assistance
- Government Publications on Terrorism (University of Maryland)
- An online bibliography of recent government publications on terrorism
- Hot Topics -- September 11, 2001 (Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA))
- Includes many news links, photographs, casualty updates, and maps
- Research & Reference Resources: Events of September 11, 2001 (Gary Price)
- Includes links to Congressional Research Service reports
- Special Coverage: War on Terrorism (FindLaw, Legal News and Commentary)
- This site is especially useful for locating laws and cases dealing with terrorism and terrorists
- Laws
- Cases Arising from the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks
- Photos of anthrax letters sent to Tom Brokaw (NBC) and Senator Tom Daschle
- Speech & Transcript Center (Gary Price)
- Focuses on compiling materials related to recent events
- Transcripts & Speeches from September 11, 2001 to October 22, 2001 are now located on a separate page
- Transcripts and speeches from international leaders remain on the primary page
- Terrorism: Attacks and Responses (Vanderbilt University)
- Organized by subject and by source
The War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and the Taliban (East Carolina University (Greenville, NC))
- Includes links covering news and information, background and analysis, the Taliban, human rights, humanitarian issues, and the US military campaign
- War on Terrorism and Related Issues (University of Richmond)
- Includes sections on news; where to find current disaster information; how to help; President's response; public laws; proposed legislation; other federal government resources; Osama bin Laden; Afghanistan; market news; Islam; and backlash against Arab, Muslim, and South Asian Americans
News Search Engines
- Finding Disaster Coverage at Search Engines
- By Danny Sullivan, Editor, The Search Engine Report, Sept. 11, 2001 (Updated: Sept. 12, 2001)
- NOTE: This is both an analysis of how search engines reacted to the terrorist attacks in the United States and advice on how to find the latest information about the disaster.
- Alta Vista News
- Moreover
- Yahoo News
- Ananova
- Excite NewsTracker
- News Index
- Northern Light's Current News
- NewsHub
- More news search engines can be found at "News Search Engines ... Major News Search Engines" (on Search Engine Watch)
| Government Documents Home
Compiled: October 2001, Janetta Paschal, Government Documents/Reference Librarian |
