Latest Terrorism News
Although it has faced grave national security threats in the past, the United States has been transformed as never before by the threat of terrorism since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
The threat of new attacks on American soil and new - albeit widely debated - imperatives in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, have the led the nation into costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lasting nearly a decade. At home, the country has reconceived its approach to security, creating a new cabinet-level department, the Department of Homeland Security, and granting sweeping new powers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency and other arms of the national security complex.
The declared enemy in this fight is al Qaeda, a stateless organization founded in the late 1980s and motivated by a radical interpretation of Sunni Islam. Al Qaeda is led by Osama bin Laden, the son of a prominent Saudi family, and operates from bases concentrated in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and North Africa.
Critics of the so-called "War on Terror" say that the threat of terrorism - vague and impossible to ever fully extinguish - had been used to justify costly wars (both in terms of deficit expansion and human lives) and abuses of human rights including torture and indefinite detention without trial for alleged enemies believed but not proven to have committed terrorist acts.
Still, the American populace has broadly assented to the changes of the last 10 years, expressing willingness to trade personal liberties and national resources for a sense of safety.
Certainly, the U.S. has not been alone in contending with Islamist terrorism. Al Qaeda and associated groups have killed civilians in attacks in England and Spain and a significant number of attempted attacks on airliners, airports and other sites have either been foiled by authorities while still in planning stages or interrupted in the attempt (as in the case of the attempted Christmas Day, 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound jet and a man's attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square, New York in May, 2010).
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 03.01.11
- Play CBS Video U.S. Military only for Libyan emergency
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 02.28.11
- Play CBS Video Violence escalating in Libya
- Play CBS Video Qaddafi digs in his heels as opposition braces for battle
- Play CBS Video First Look: Quddafi not leaving & spring training begins
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 02.24.11
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 02.17.11
- Play CBS Video Persian Gulf Dangers to U.S. Interests
- Hornet's nest ahead? Congress examines Islam in US
Hornet's nest ahead? Congress examines Islam in US
Read Full Story - King defends past IRA support, terror hearings
King defends past IRA support, terror hearings
Read Full Story - Attacks on media, activists spur fears in Iraq
Attacks on media, activists spur fears in Iraq
Read Full Story - Man held in Scotland over Sweden terror attack
Man held in Scotland over Sweden terror attack
Read Full Story - Yemeni prisoners riot, call for president's ouster
Yemeni prisoners riot, call for president's ouster
Read Full Story - U.K. arrests man linked to Sweden Christmas bomb
Police nab 30-year-old in Scotland in connection with December's failed suicide attack on Stockholm shoppers
Read Full Story - Hearing offers new insights on NYC subway plot
Hearing offers new insights on NYC subway plot
Read Full Story - Afghan president tells his people hard year ahead
Afghan president tells his people hard year ahead
Read Full Story - New Guantanamo trials could include 9/11 suspects
New Guantanamo trials could include 9/11 suspects
Read Full Story - Pakistan car bomb kills 20; 100 wounded
Police chief in nation's 3rd largest city calls attack on gas station a certain "terrorist attack"
Read Full Story - Pakistani officials: 5 killed by US missile
Pakistani officials: 5 killed by US missile
Read Full Story - Obama effectively continues Bush's Gitmo policy
By resuming military trials at Guantanamo Bay, President Obama goes back on promises he made as senator
Read Blog - Obama restarts Guantanamo trials
Obama restarts Guantanamo trials
Read Full Story - A look at political unrest in the Middle East
A look at political unrest in the Middle East
Read Full Story - Somalia gov't: We're no longer a failed state
As transitional government passes milestone, information minister says country no longer besieged by Islamist militants
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A device that adds GPR features to a standard metal detector is the latest tech advance in the search for buried explosives.
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News organizations rushed Thursday to cover the U.S. air strike that killed al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
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Soldiers in Iraq, filmmaker in U.S. use inexpensive camcorders and constant stream of IMs and e-mail to create award-winning documentary.
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Insurgents are videotaping and then posting clips of successful operations to the Web.
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