GTD In The News

June 22, 2011

START Director and Researcher Gary LaFree comments on 9/11 and the GTD (Security Management)

"Before 9-11, there was no comprehensive terrorism database..." In a presentation at the National Institute of Justice 2011 Conference, Gary LaFree discussed the Global Terrorism Database and top-line findings.

See How 9-11 Has Driven Technology Advancements.

September 7, 2010

Background Report on Discovery Communications Building Hostage-Taking (HS Today)

Following the September 1, 2010, hostage situation at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring, Maryland, START has compiled background information on terrorist activity in the District of Columbia and Maryland, media targets, and hostage situations in the United States.

HS Today Coverage: www.hstoday.us/content/view/14616/128/.

The PDF of the original report, released on September 2, 2010 is available here.

The accompanying press release is available here.

June 16, 2010

START Data Used in New Republic Article (NPR)

START's data on number of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil was used in the article, "The New Republic: Creating A No-Buy List For Guns".

May 3, 2010

Background Report: Terrorist Attacks in New York City (CNN, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Discovery News , Epoch Times, One India, NY Daily News, New York Post)

START recently released a background report on terrorism in New York City, employing GTD data to reveal trends and historical information about patterns of attacks against New York. More information is available here..

April 26, 2010

Background Information on Oklahoma City Bombing (Security Management, Sindh Today, Frontier India, The Gaea Times, FBIIC)

START recently released a background report on the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building. More information is available here..

March 2, 2010

START Director LaFree Interviewed on UMD Capital News Service TV

START Director Gary LaFree was interviewed by the University of Maryland news network, Capital News Service, on domestic and religious terrorism in the U.S. in light of the recent case against the Colorado man up for charges for involvement in the attempt to bomb the New York subway system. See interview here, titled "Afghan Reaction".

December 10, 2009

START Director Interviewed on Chicago Public Radio Regarding Homegrown Terrorism

START Director Gary LaFree was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio program Eight Forty Eight, discussing homegrown terrorism and its increasing salience, evident by the recent arrest of U.S. Citizen and Chicago resident David Headley and his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai Attacks. More information is available here..

November 13, 2009

Data from GTD Used in Washington Times Editorial

In the wake of a fatal attack at Ft. Hood (Texas), editorial writers at the Washington Times used START's Global Terrorism Database to try to put the Ft. Hood events in context with other mass-casualty attacks that have occurred in the United States.

The full article from the November 13, 2009, issue of the Washington Times is available here.

July 6, 2009

GTD Data: Terrorist Activity in the U.S. Primarily Involves Bombs and Arson (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

GTD data on terrorist weapons use is cited in FBI Stays Alert, Works to Thwart Area Terrorism.

June 16, 2009

START Director on What's New in Terrorism Research (Homeland Security Inside & Out)

Gary LaFree, Director of START, discusses START as a Center of Excellence of the Department of Homeland Security and its recently updated Global Terrorism Database (GTD).

Listen to audio here: http://homestation.typepad.com/hlsinsideandout/ or here: http://www.start.umd.edu/start/media/GL_HSI&O_6-16-09.mp3

May 29, 2009

GTD Data Provides Background on Attacks Against Religious and Military Targets (Emergency Management)

START's Global Terrorism Database (GTD) provides background data on attacks against religious and military targets in Terrorism Against Religious Targets in Perspective.
See also Article in Sindh Today

May 28, 2009

START Director and GTD in "9/11 'Misleads' Americans' View of Terrorism" (Washington Times)

Sept. 11 looms large as the defining example of a terrorist attack on the United States, but it was one of more than 1,000 in recent years and a very atypical example.

START Director Gary LaFree cites data from START's Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and explains how Sept. 11 has fundamentally altered our perceptions of terrorism. See 9/11 'Misleads' Americans' View of Terrorism
See also article in Security Management.

May 1, 2009

START Director Contributes to State Department and NCTC Reports

In late April, the State Department issued its annual report on terrorist activity, "Country Reports on Terrorism 2008," which includes "An Academic's Perspective on Open Source Event Data," written by START Director Gary LaFree (page 351). A more comprehensive piece by Gary LaFree is included in the National Counterterrorism Center's (NCTC's) companion report (starting on page 72). In the NCTC report, LaFree provides additional comments on challenges and recommendations for measuring terrorism.

February 2009

Washington Prism Conversation with START Director

START Director Gary LaFree discusses the decentralization of terrorist groups and describes the challenges he faces in documenting attacks, specifically in Iraq, for the Global Terrorism Database "Al-Qaeda in 2009 An Expert Assessment"

December 8, 2008

GTD Data on India Cited (Newsweek)

Shortly after the Mumbai, India, terror attacks, an article from the December 15, 2008, issue of Newsweek, "No Fanning the Flames", relied upon data from the GTD to provide context on the frequency and impact of terrorist attacks in India since 1970.

December 4, 2008

GTD Featured in "Terrorism Database Sheds Light on the History of Attacks in India" (Scientific American)

More info

December 3, 2008

GTD Data Cited in "Since 1970, 4,108 Terror Attacks in India" (United Press International)

More info

July 25, 2008

GTD Data Used in Special Report (The Economist)

More info

May 25, 2008

Zakaria Discusses GTD and Challenges of Tracking Terrorism (Newsweek, Washington Post)

More info