9/11 attacks cloud Americans' view of terrorism
There were 80,000 terrorist attacks around the world from 1970 to 2007; of those attacks, only 1,350 attacks, or 1.6 percent, hit American targets — mostly overseas; this percentage plummets to 0.08 percent when attacks on domestic targets are calculated
There are two dangers in learning from history: the first is not learning enough; the second is learning too much. A new study says that the lessons we have drawn from the the 9/11 attacks exhibit the second danger. These attacks were a quintessential example of the high-cost, low probability event, but the images from that day have clouded the ability of Americans calmly to weigh the risks of terrorism, according to study from the College Park, Maryland-based National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
START, based at the University of Maryland and primarily funded by DHS, analyzed more than 80,000 attacks from 1970 to 2007. Of those attacks, only 1,350 attacks, or 1.6 percent, hit American targets — mostly overseas. This small percentage plummets to 0.08 percent when attacks on domestic targets are calculated. Jennifer Harper writes in the Washington Times that
Regardless of public perceptions, the START researchers deal only with hard numbers, and they found that there have been 25 terrorist attacks against American religious figures or institutions and 38 terrorist attacks against military targets in the United States since 1970.
The analysis also found that of 53 foreign terrorist groups judged to be “the most dangerous to the U.S.,” 97 percent of their attacks were not on American soil.
Unlike 9/11, most terrorist attacks in the U.S. and elsewhere are from domestic groups, not international ones,” Mr. LaFree said. Unlike 9/11, most terrorist attacks include few if any fatalities. Unlike 9/11, most attacks do not involve in-depth planning or sophisticated weaponry. Unlike al Qaeda, most terrorist groups are not long-lasting.
Gary LaFree, director of START, told Harper that 9/11 created a conceptual problem for the United States because one very big, audacious, and deadly terrorist attack has become synonymous with all terrorist attacks. “[I]f we consider [9-11] to be typical of terrorist attacks, we will have a very misleading view of terrorism,” he said.
