Patterns of Global Terrorism 1985-2005: U. S. Department of State Reports with Supplementary Documents and Statistics ( 2 Vol. set ) - Hardcover

Anna Sabasteanski

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0974309133 ISBN 13: 9780974309132

Publisher: Berkshire Pub Group, 2005

Synopsis

The State Department published "Patterns of Global Terrorism" annually beginning in 1985, but announced in April 2005 that it would do so no longer; instead, the National Counterterrorist Center will publish annual Country Reports. This two-volume set offers a great service to policy makers, journalists, researchers, and the general public by publishing 20-years worth of Patterns in a thoughtfully prepared format. For this highly worthy project Sabasteanski (she's editor of the Terrorism Central database and newsletter, among other qualifications) has not only collated the material but provides context, coherence, and thorough access. Part 1 comprises a consideration and synthesis of documents about counterterrorism; Part 2 presents Patterns reports, revised and updated, on major global terrorist organizations. Subsequent sections present the annual regional and country reports; a chronology of significant terrorist incidents 1961-2005; 20 tables and 20 maps of terrorist incidents by country and group 1985-2004; and 40 graphs of trends over time (incidents, casualties, targets, and tactics). Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

About the Author:

Anna Sabasteanski, Terrorismcentral.com

From Booklist:

Editor Sabasteanski has compiled a large number of reports from federal government sources both recent and historic. Sabasteanski is an associate of TerrorismCentral [http://www.terrorismcentral.com], a division of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. PIPS is a policy think tank that focuses research on terrorism and associated areas that have been heavily funded through the U.S. Office of Homeland Security. PIPS states on its Web site that it "fiercely maintains objectivity and credibility, remaining independent of any federal or state agency, and owing no special allegiance to any single political party or private concern. TerrorismCentral enforces this objectivity with strong editorial and privacy policy controls, monitored by an Advisory Board." The bulk of the information found in the set is from the U.S. Department of State's annual Patterns of Global Terrorism report, 1985-2003. In 2005 the State Department announced that it would no longer publish the report, which has been succeeded by County Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center is now responsible for statistical reporting.

Part 1 contains various reports, many of them from Congressional Research Service, on counterterrorism, including the roles of the various agencies involved. Part 2 consists of revised and updated Patterns reports on foreign terrorist organizations. Although some of the groups may be currently inactive, they are included as part of the historic focus of the volumes. Part 3 offers decade-by-decade regional overviews with country reports reproduced in full, each containing several paragraphs of information on terrorist activities. Sabasteanski provides a lengthy introduction as well as chapter introductions to familiarize readers with the topics covered. The other material that makes up the book includes Congressional Research Service reports on intelligence reform and a chronology of significant terrorist events from 1961 to 2005. The final section contains statistics represented in black-and-white tables, maps, and graphs. The index makes it easy to find what one is looking for.

The set is well edited and well organized and contains information that would be difficult to locate in one Web stop. Given the importance of the topic, the set is recommended for most academic and public libraries. Steve Stratton
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About this edition

• Publisher: Berkshire Pub Group
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0974309133
• ISBN 13: 9780974309132
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1079
• Editor: Anna Sabasteanski