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 Panetta on U.S. troop deployment to Africa
- Play CBS Video US Drone strike kills seven more
- Play CBS Video "Underwear bomber" trial beginning
- Play CBS Video CIA agent: I was sent to get bin Laden's head
- Play CBS Video Pakistan U.N. Ambassador: Don't scapegoat us
- Play CBS Video Al Qaeda chief bomb maker alive: Yemen official
- Play CBS Video Yemen: Top al Qaeda bomb maker still alive
- Play CBS Video Drone strike may have killed top bomb maker
- Play CBS Video What's next for al Qaeda?
- Deliberations resume in Minn. terror funding case
Deliberations resume in Minn. terror funding case
Read Full Story » - Clinton presses Pakistan on anti-terror fight
Spoke in Afghanistan ahead of meeting of U.S. and Pakistani officials where, she said, she'll keep the heat on them
Read Full Story » - NATO kills 115 militants in east Afghanistan fight
NATO kills 115 militants in east Afghanistan fight
Read Full Story » - Deliberations ongoing in Minn. terror funding case
Deliberations ongoing in Minn. terror funding case
Read Full Story » - Pakistani poor hit by decision to spurn US aid
Pakistani poor hit by decision to spurn US aid
Read Full Story » - Clinton pushes Afghan reconciliation
Clinton pushes Afghan reconciliation
Read Full Story » - 1 more UN worker dies after Aug. Nigeria HQ blast
1 more UN worker dies after Aug. Nigeria HQ blast
Read Full Story » - 1 more UN worker dies after Aug. Nigeria HQ blast
1 more UN worker dies after Aug. Nigeria HQ blast
Read Full Story » - Jurors resume deliberating terrorism funding case
Jurors resume deliberating terrorism funding case
Read Full Story » - AP Interview: US Gen.: New offensive hits Haqqanis
AP Interview: US Gen.: New offensive hits Haqqanis
Read Full Story » - AP Interview: New offensive hits Haqqani militants
AP Interview: New offensive hits Haqqani militants
Read Full Story » - NATO kills 115 militants in east Afghanistan fight
NATO kills 115 militants in east Afghanistan fight
Read Full Story » - Roadside bombs kill 2 NATO and 5 Afghan troops
Roadside bombs kill 2 NATO and 5 Afghan troops
Read Full Story » - 6 more Filipino soldiers found dead after clash
6 more Filipino soldiers found dead after clash
Read Full Story » - 6 more Filipino soldiers found dead after clash
6 more Filipino soldiers found dead after clash
Read Full Story »
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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