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?
- U.S.: Imminent terror attack in Kenya possible
Embassy warns of threat against foreigners based on "credible information" as Kenyan troops close in on terrorist-held Somali town
Read Full Story » - Mass. man goes to trial on US terror charges
Mass. man goes to trial on US terror charges
Read Full Story » - Mass. man goes to trial on US terror charges
Mass. man goes to trial on US terror charges
Read Full Story » - US warms to idea of Pakistan talks with militants
US warms to idea of Pakistan talks with militants
Read Full Story » - Kenya expecting first ground battle with militants
Kenya expecting first ground battle with militants
Read Full Story » - Mauritania army raid killed al-Qaida group leader
Mauritania army raid killed al-Qaida group leader
Read Full Story » - Obama: Gadhafi, Iraq show renewed US leadership
Obama: Gadhafi, Iraq show renewed US leadership
Read Full Story » - Obama's foreign successes may help little in 2012
Obama's foreign successes may help little in 2012
Read Full Story » - UN calls for power transfer in Yemen
UN calls for power transfer in Yemen
Read Full Story » - Iraq war over, US troops coming home, Obama says
Iraq war over, US troops coming home, Obama says
Read Full Story » - US looks to wrap up mission in post-Gadhafi Libya
US looks to wrap up mission in post-Gadhafi Libya
Read Full Story » - Father of NYC plotter pleads guilty to visa charge
Father of NYC plotter pleads guilty to visa charge
Read Full Story » - Lithuania won't reopen CIA prison probe
Lithuania won't reopen CIA prison probe
Read Full Story » - Father of NYC plotter pleads guilty to visa charge
Father of NYC plotter pleads guilty to visa charge
Read Full Story » - Lawmaker warns Pakistan over ties to Haqqani group
Lawmaker warns Pakistan over ties to Haqqani group
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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